The Jelly Bean in the Bones
by CrayonClown
Summary: Booth and Brennan have been hiding a their relationship from their friends which comes to be revealed in light of the fact that Brennan turns up pregnant. Has the potential to be quite fluffy with a little bit of drama. Now rated M.
1. Hurricane Brennan

**This is one that I have been working on for awhile. It takes place in season five, but ignores anything that happened in the gravedigger trial as well as the finale. So the events of the last two episodes of season 5 never happened and neither did anything that came after that. Other than that, everything else is fair game. **

**Now for the sad part. Not mine. :(**

* * *

**The Jelly Bean in the Bones  
**

As usual Booth came striding into the Jeffersonian intent on retrieving his partner so they could go to the diner for their usual daily lunch. "Hi ya, Bones! Are ya hungry? Because I am. Let's go. Chop. Chop." He said as he started to grab her coat and purse."

She shrugged away from his reach as he tried to pull her lab coat off of her. "I'm really not hungry, Booth. I need to stay and watch over these incompetent interns. This morning Ms. Wick mixed up the bones of five unidentified remains from Limbo. In all fairness I was distracting her when it happened because I was yelling at Arastoo for spilling a liquid on the platform. I am also fairly certain that Fisher thinks I fired him. He didn't really do anything wrong. He was just in my way. I simply told him to go home for an extended period of time. He mumbled something about going home to his lonely dark abysmal cave and some other shit that I really was not listening to. This whole day so far…it was pretty stupid. I would love to go with you, but it will take days to figure out which bones go where, and I simply cannot trust these people with the responsibilities it takes to do this job right now."

He looked at her like he always does when he knows that she is so wrapped up in her work that she neglects her hunger, but also with a great deal of concern over the massacre of the interns. "No, Bones. It might do you some good to get out of here for a while. It sounds like you need to take a breather for awhile."

"Booth, I am breathing just fine."

Booth rolled his eyes and didn't bother to explain her misunderstanding, and simply replied, "You need to eat. You cannot just skip—"

He was cut off by Cam, who had just entered the room, before he could convince her to at least steal some of his fries. "Dr. Brennan. Oh, hello Booth. We have identified the remains of the nine year old boy. His name is Daniel Garcia. He is the son of Johnny and Maria Garcia. Johnny is very prominent heart surgeon in the area. We don't have a cause of death yet. I told Wendell to clean the bones for you. He does seem to be the only intern you are on speaking terms with at the moment other than Dr. Edison, who is lucky he is out of town. Wendell is cleaning the bones for you right now, and they should be ready to start examining right after you get back from lunch, Dr. Brennan."

There was a heavy silence that fell on the three for a moment as they took in the information about the remains of a child being identified. These cases were always the hardest for all of them, including Brennan who was known for distancing herself from the emotions of the cases, but in reality they hit her just as hard if not harder sometimes.

"Thanks, Dr. Saroyan. Bones and I will get on that right when we get back."

Camille nodded and turned to leave the two alone in the office, but turned back to ask, "Seeley, can I see you out here for a minute?"

"Yeah. Sure." Booth walked out of Brennan's office, and Cam motioned for him to close the door. "What's this about Camille?"

"Seeley, I am worried about our interns' safety and self-esteem. You should have seen Dr. Brennan's tirade this morning. Not one of them was spared from the verbal lashings of hurricane Brennan. Feelings were hurt and pride was severely damaged along with Dr. Brennan's trust of the interns. Wendell was only spared because he was out getting coffee."

"She told me she was upset, but she apparently downplayed the severity. It was that bad?"

"It was. In fact, when she was done with them she turned her talons on Hodgins when he said he had not yet identified the particulates found on the victim. In his defense he only just gained access to them half an hour before she stormed the platform."

"Whoa. So, what do you want me to do?" he asked.

"You are the only one she lets close enough to her to try to calm her down, and figure out what the real problem is."

"She seems fine right now. I am not going to push her. This case is really taking its toll on all of us. As much as she would like you to believe that it is not affecting her, these cases really bother her."

"What about you? How are you doing with this?"

"Cam, I would be lying if I said that I am okay. I am not, but just getting the chance to catch the guy that did this does help. I don't know what I would do if Parker…"

"It's okay. You do not have to even say it. Go on. Take Dr. Brennan to lunch, and bring her back in a better mood."

Booth walked back into Brennan's office, not knowing what to say. He did not know whether or not he should mention the case or bring up her war path of destruction from earlier in the day. Brennan spared him the choice by speaking first.

"Booth, are you going to notify the family today?" she asked as her voice caught in her throat.

He opened his mouth a few times before saying anything until finally settling with a simple nod.

Brennan rested her hand on his shoulder and brought it up to his strong jaw that seemed to be clenched in anger to make him look at her. He turned his deep brown eyes and locked with hers. "Booth, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say. Normally, I would look to you or Angela for the right thing to say in a situation like this."

His faced relaxed a little as her tender touches to his face sent a calming feeling down his spine. Only she had the ability to essentially melt his anger away with simple touch. "You said the right thing, Bones."

"Come with me to notify the parents?" he grimaced as if it pained him to say the words, and it did. He wanted her there to keep him intact like he knew only she could.

"Yeah, but let's go feed you first. You were ravenous when you came here." She looked out of her glass-walled office, and made sure no one was watching. Then, she wrapped her arms around his waist, and embraced him as she placed a consoling kiss on his lips.

Booth and Brennan had been together for about seven months, but had not disclosed this bit of juicy information with their friends, and coworkers because they knew that there was no way that they would hear the end of it, especially Angela. They also figured that if Sweets found out that he would be obligated to report the relationship to the FBI, and there would be a very real possibility that the dynamic duo would no longer be allowed to work together as partners.

**B&B**

At the diner, he had his usual burger and fries, and as usual Brennan was stealing his fries. They had a brief conversation about the case, and then turned to lighter subjects like Parker's grades, his next visit, and Angela wanting to go for another girls' night out soon.

Brennan was in the middle of stealing a swig from Booth's chocolate milkshake when before either of them knew it she was rushing to the restroom leaving a confused Booth staring at the milkshake she had just spilled and the plate of fries that got knocked off of the table in her haste to get up. Several minutes went by before he decided that maybe he should check on her.

Knocking on the door of the women's restroom he made sure there was no one else in there except his Bones. "Bones, baby, are you okay? Are you sick? Baby? Please, talk to me."

He heard a tiny almost frail sounding voice from one of the stalls, "I'm—in here."

"Is there anyone else in here that I might freak out?"

"I think I'm alone."

"Are you okay, you were looking a little pale before you practically knocked the table over?"

She took a second to take some deep breaths. "I'm fine, Booth."

"Really? Because you—" He was cut off by the sound of heaving. "Aw, Bones. You're sick. I will get your stuff ready to go. I am taking you home."

After taking a moment to gather herself, she walked out of the stall looking like she had been drained of all energy. "Booth, I can't go home. The little boy..."

"No, it can wait. Let your interns handle it."

"What about the victim's family. You—you have to tell them." She walked into his open arms. He placed his arms around her to rub soothing circles on her lower back.

"That can wait, too. Bones, your health is important. While it is important for the parents to know we have found their son's body, he is dead and nothing can be done about that. We don't even have a cause of death, yet. It can wait until we have a cause of death, but getting you healthy cannot."

"Okay, take me home." She was still very noticeably shaking as he held her in his caring embrace.

"I will call Cam, and tell her you won't be coming back in today."

B&B

At her apartment he put her in bed, and brought her some soup, crackers, and water. She wasn't hungry, but he convinced her to at the very least nibble on the crackers and ordered her to drink the water so she didn't get dehydrated.

"I think your phone is ringing, Booth."

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is. Would I be joking around with you right now? I feel like crap. Why would I do that?"

"No, I guess not. You can hear that?" He started looking around the room for it; he checked under the bed, in the covers, in the cushions of the chair in her room. It didn't seem to be anywhere.

"Yes."

With a look of confusion setting into his face he asks, "Hmm, where is it at?"

"I don't know. Where did you leave it?" Brennan snapped at him. She was getting a little irritated, but trying to not let it get to her. She knew that he wasn't trying to irritate her, but she was still wasn't feeling well and was quite irritable at the moment. "I don't hear it anymore. Did you leave it in the kitchen? That is really the only other place you have been."

"I will go check," he stated walking out of the room. A few seconds passed before he came back in the room and listened to the message that was left for him. He was clearly upset by the message, and even the socially inept Brennan could pick up that something was not right.

"Booth?" She could see his hand clench down on his phone tightly as he flipped it shut, and she was sure that he might throw it across the room. To her surprise he didn't.

"What?" He was agitated. She knew he didn't mean to take it out on her. Both of their nerves were on edge because of the case and because of her being sick. He quickly realized his tone, and scaled it back. "Sorry, baby. I didn't mean to sound upset at you." He paused knowing this information would sting her, too. "Bones, that was Hacker. We have to tell the parents today. He just got the report from Cam. Wendell found many bruised bones and fractures evident of abuse. Most of them were caused many weeks and months before the death. Hacker doesn't want the chance of the media leaking information about the case that might make them run."

"Okay, let me get dressed, and I will go with you."

"Are you sure that is a good idea? I found you puking your guts out in the bathroom earlier. You should stay in case there is more, you know." He gestured to indicate the action of throwing up.

"No, Booth. I am fine. It has passed, and besides I don't think I have anything left in there."

"Fine, but tell me if you start to feel bad again. We can't have you puking on grieving parents, especially when they may know something."

* * *

**Review. **

**At the time of this edit, this story has over 50 chapters. It'd be nice to hear from you as you read rather than just at the end. :) Please?  
**

**Cannot wait until season 6 next week! I actually think Hannah will be the straw that breaks the camel's back and finally brings them together. You never know. That HH is quite sneaky. It will be good no matter what happens though. :)**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	2. Tea and Daffodils

**The response to this fic so far has been so wonderful! I have about 80 pages written in a word document just waiting to be proofed and posted. I don't want to upload a bunch at once, but I figured I could give you guys a little more today since I had the time to proof it. Enjoy.**

* * *

They both breathed a sigh of relief exiting the room where they just told the parents about their son. "Bones, the dad. He just doesn't seem surprised. The mother's reaction was also disturbing. She was upset, but he...he just didn't do what parents normally do when they are told about their child. Sweets thinks we are going to have to being them back in separately, but for now let's just let them have their peace."

"Can we go to the lab; I need to at least look at the bones. It isn't that I don't trust Wendell, but I would feel better knowing that I actually looked at the bones myself."

"I figured that is where we would go now. I know you are worried about the killer walking on this one. I know you would not exactly leave me alone unless we at least stop by there."

**B&B**

"Good afternoon Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth. Hey, I thought you were sick? I figured it must have been pretty bad for you to not come in. Cam and Angela both said that you just don't call in sick."

"She's fine, Wendell. It was just a little bit of stress. This case has us all a little unraveled."

Brennan walked up to the lab table slipping on some rubber gloves. "Wendell, what do you have so far? I only know of the bruising and fractures indicating abuse. Is there anything indicating cause of death? Let me take a look."

"No, nothing yet, Dr. Brennan. I did find a strange ridge in the femur that would indicate a stab wound, but it showed re-calcification. I have not found anything recent and definitely nothing fatal, yet."

"Was the stab wound recent or is there any indication of it being old like some of the bruises and fractures?"

"Dr. Brennan, I just said..." He paused as he noted the look on Booth's face. Not even Booth could believe the lack of attention that Brennan was giving her intern as he explained his findings. He continued with caution. "The stab wound appears to be old, but there is something else. We didn't see it before because of the battered state of the..."

Brennan didn't get a chance to hear what Wendell was saying because she quickly found this situation very nauseating and so much so that she ran to the nearest trashcan, and knelt beside it as she knew she wouldn't have time to make it to the lavatories. Some of it was just dry heaving, but the nausea was clearly evident. A wave of dizziness came over her, and she felt very near the edge of passing out from the mind spinning waves of dizziness.

Booth saw it as she tried to fight the urge as hard as she could, and he saw the moment she realized that she could no longer hold it back. He rushed to her side. "Bones!" He wanted so much for her to feel better that she could hear it in his tender voice as he knelt next to her and whispered in her ear soothing words to calm her nerves, again rubbing soothing circles on her lower back. The intimate nature of Booth's contact with Brennan did not escape Wendell's attention, but it was not completely obvious if Booth was being the caring gentleman he everyone knew him to be or if it was because something had changed between the partners. It simply could just be an act of consolation. Whether or not people knew they were together they did know they were more than just partner; they knew the two were best friends.

Booth whispered in her ear as he knelt next to her. "It's okay baby. Just try to breathe deep. Enough of this I am taking you home, and this time you are staying."

"Fine," she reluctantly let go of her pride and was willing to admit that she did need some time to get better.

**B&B**

"Booth?"

From across the house he yelled back, "What?"

"What are you doing?"

He walked in the room with two mugs. "I made you some citrus green tea, and me some coffee."

"You don't need coffee, it is bedtime."

"I do, if I am going to stay up and watch over you."

"You don't—"

"Yes. I do. I love you. I am going to sit here, and make sure you have everything you need. Okay, baby?"

"Lay by me?" she asked.

Of all the things that he knew about her, he was fairly certain that almost none of that information surprised him more than the fact that his Bones was a cuddler.

"What? Lay by you? And catch whatever it is you've got? I don't think so, Bones."

"But, you make me feel better, and you love me. Lay by me." she pleaded in a playfully helpless tone.

"Bones, you are sick. Go to sleep, and get some rest."

"I can't sleep without you holding me. You said you would make sure I have everything I need. I need you to lay by me." She tried to guilt him into laying by her. Since they had been together neither of them have stayed at their own place alone unless Booth had Parker for the weekend.

"Okay. Fine, but if you get me sick, I just don't know that I will be able to..." his voice trailed off as he noticed that she was already half asleep. He decided it would be best to honor his word and lay by her even if she really did not need him holding her to go to sleep. He took off his shirt and changed into his old army sweatpants and climbed into bed next to her, making sure to snuggle up close behind her just to keep her nice and warm.

**B&B**

The next sound Booth heard was a heavy purging sound coming from the bathroom at 7 am the next morning. He would have much rather been woke up by an annoying alarm clock rather than his Bones spewing her guts out. _She must be really sick. She isn't going anywhere today. _He thought to himself. Getting up to go check on her he noticed the time and realized that he only had about an hour before he had the be in Hacker's office to discuss how to proceed with the case.

"Bones, are you okay?" He didn't receive a response. "I have a meeting in an hour, I am going to go shower in your other bathroom and get ready. Let me know if you need anything. The door will be unlocked."

He heard a very faint, "okay," and cringed at the breathlessness of her single word response.

After a few minutes of being in the shower Booth heard the door to the bathroom door open. "Bones?"

"I think I need you to hold me." She opened the curtain and steps into the shower with Booth.

"Bones, I need to get ready for work."

"I know, but I need a shower, too. I feel gross. Will you just hold me for a minute?"

"Yeah, baby. I can do that. Don't get any bright ideas though. You are sick, and I need to go to work." He reached his arms around her and hugged her tight to comfort her.

"What makes you think I am in the mood for sex?" She pulled back slightly to look into his eyes.

"I know you're not. I wasn't implying that you were. I was saying that more for myself than for you. Do you have any idea how hard it is to have you naked in my arms and not do anything about it?" He pulled away from her as she leaned in to kiss him. "Nuh-uh, Bones. I am not going to catch what you have." Before she could take his actions as being repulsed by her illness he took her cheeks in the palms of his hands and titled her head down and he leaned in to kiss her forehead gently. "Okay, Bones. I need to get out. I have to get dressed. Do you want me to make you anything for breakfast?"

"I think I just want a glass of orange juice. I am not hungry. I am afraid of throwing up the orange juice as it is. Can you call the lab, and let them know I won't be in?"

_Wow, I didn't even have to bring up the fact that I think she should stay home. This must be really bad. I thought I would have to fight her much harder to stay home today._

"Yeah, I can, but I think after your little display in the lab yesterday they probably already know that you won't be in today. Okay, getting out. Relax, I am going to get dressed and will see you in the kitchen."

"Okay."

It took her several minutes before she felt like she could raise her arms above her head to wash her hair, and throughout most of the shower she leaned heavily on the wall. There were various body washes in her guest bathroom, but she always made sure to stock up on Booth's particular brand. She decided since they were going to spend the day apart she could at least be comforted by having his scent on her all day. It was a really comforting manly scent, but not the strong overwhelming scent of some of the products that the younger generation tends to drench themselves in, such as Axe.

**B&B**

Walking into the kitchen, she sat in her chair and was greeted by her glass of orange juice and a bowl of oatmeal. He knew she wouldn't feel like touching it, but it made her feel comforted knowing that he went through the trouble knowing that she wouldn't.

"I said I wasn't hungry." she teased.

"I know, but just in case you changed your mind I decided it would be nice to have something ready." He leaned down to her to give her a hug and a kiss on the head.

"Thanks. I love you, Seeley Booth. You are way too good to me." She gave him a shy little smile.

"I love you, too, baby. Hey, I hate this, but I gotta run, or Hacker is gonna have my ass served on a platter to the Bureau."

With that he left her knowing how much she hated to be cooped up when there was so much work to get done, especially since they had an open case. She had gone about her morning deciding it best to take it easy, and just lay in bed with her laptop to make some headway on a few chapters of her next book. Around 10:30 there was a knock at her door, and much to her surprise it was the florist delivering a dozen daffodils with a card.

_Temperance, _

_Bones, my baby, I am sorry you are so sick. Please take it easy today. I know how you hate to sit at home when we have cases to solve and bad guys to lock up, but please just rest. Those dishes better still be in the sink when I come home! Don't go anywhere, and I will be home as soon as I can. I couldn't help but notice when I hugged you before I left this morning that you smelled like my body wash. I can't tell you how hot that makes me. Get better soon, because I am not sure how much longer I can keep my distance from you. I love you._

_Love,_

_Seeley Booth _

_xoxoxoxo_

_P.S.—I know you're wondering about the x's and the o's. It means hugs and kisses._

The flowers were the perfect thing to cheer her up. The card was perfect. She was so fortunate to have Booth. She could not help but wonder everyday what she did to deserve a man like him. Her family life was horrible starting from the time her parents abandoned her, then Russ left, her foster parents were horrible, and she was under constant scrutiny from her classmates at school because of her social awkwardness. She pretty much distanced herself from ever becoming close enough to anyone so that she didn't have to go through the heartbreak of them hurting or leaving her, until she met Seeley Booth.

* * *

**Review.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	3. The Shopping List

**Not going to say anything other than just read.**

* * *

Brennan was making a list of things she needed to go to the store to get, but if she was being honest with herself she would probably just give the list to Booth to get them for her. As she was making her list of things she needed she remembered she needed more milk, bread, potatoes, carrots, items for her favorite salad, coffee filters, coffee grounds, beef for Booth, sun chips, beer for Booth, wine, paper towels, toilet paper, shampoo, tampons, and toothpaste.

Her breathing started to get shallow as her mind started to race in a dizzying fast pace. There had been a few thoughts plaguing her the past several weeks, and she felt her mind coming back to these thoughts. As she thought about the items on her list she started thinking about today's date, and started to panic as her mind continued to race.

_How could I have missed this?_ _I have been feeling sick for several weeks now. My emotions have been out of control and completely irrational. I have a hunch, but that is the problem. I don't do hunches. That is Booth's thing, not mine. I don't make guesses. Why do I get the feeling that I should just trust this feeling I have? What if I am right? Worse yet, what if I am wrong? Could I handle the disappointment? I just need to talk to someone. Maybe I should call Angela. She doesn't know about the development of our relationship. She is my best friend, what could she possibly say? I cannot do this alone! I have to call her._

Brennan reached for her phone and pressed the speed dial key for her best friend. "Pick up, Ange! Come on."

"Hey, Sweetie. How are you feeling?" Just the sheer amount of cheer in her best friend's tone at the fact that she is getting a call from Brennan told her that Angela was the perfect person to help her through this.

"I am fine, Angela. I—actually, no, I am not fine. I need your help. I don't know what to do. I didn't know who I should call to talk to about this. I just don't know how to even say it. I don't want to be judged, and I don't want any go—"

"Bren, slow down. I am your best friend, you can tell me anything. Trust me; anything you tell me is safe with me. I—Sweetie just tell me. You have always been able to just say what is on your mind. So, spill."

"Okay, I don't want to talk about this right now. I just need your word that you can do a favor for me now, and ask questions later. Please?"

"Sure, Bren. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to pick something up for me, bring it to me, and then we can talk."

"Okay. What?"

"I need a pregnancy test. I'm at my apartment. Can you meet me here during your lunch break?"

There was a long moment of silence before Angela finally responded, "Sure, anything else."

**B&B**

Brennan was trying to make some black tea for herself when there was a knock at her door, which was just as well because she was so shaky she wasn't getting very far on her own.

"Bren, open up, Sweetie! It's Angela."

With a deep breath she opened the door to see her very sympathetic best friend holding a bag with her requested item in hand. Tears started to well up in Brennan's eyes which told Angela just how much she was needed right then. Putting the bag down she did the only thing she could think to do or say. She reached out to her best friend and hugged her tightly with reassurance.

"Here you go, I bought four of them. You know, just to be sure."

"Ange, I am already pretty sure, or I wouldn't even be asking for your help. I—I am nine days late. That never happens, and this nausea from hell—"

"Late. Morning sickness. That massive mood swing you unleashed on everyone yesterday." Angela nodded knowing the sure signs of pregnancy.

"Morning sickness is not at all an accurate name for it. Anytime sickness would be more fitting. Only yesterday had it been bad enough to actually make me start hurling, although I have felt nauseated for a few weeks now. I just thought that maybe I had a stomach virus." Brennan ignored her friend's comment on her verbal episode yesterday because she knew it felt emotionally driven, but did not quite know how to explain it at the time. She had no desire to try to analyze it now either.

"Yeah. Okay. So, let's just take the tests to be sure."

She took the bag of tests to the bathroom and hastily opened the boxes, and read the directions. She decided that it would be best to just go ahead and take all four. Just to be safe. There is nothing wrong with more proof to back up a theory.

When she was done she walked out of the bathroom. "I am done, Ange. Now we just wait for three minutes."

"Let's go to the living room and just sit and wait." Walking into the living room, Angela's face lit up. "Oh my goodness, Bren, those flowers are beautiful. Daffodils!" she gasped. "They are your favorite. Who are they from?" she winked at her friend. "Are they from the baby-daddy?"

"Ange!"

"Oh, there's a card! Can I read it?" Not even waiting for an answer, she snatched it up and read the letter written to her best friend.

"Angela, NO!" It was too late.

The next sound that was heard could have only been a very predictable genuine Angela Montenegro squeal of joy. "Oh. My. God. Brennan! These are from Booth?" shrieked Angela. "Are you doing the horizontal tango with Special Agent Sexy Booth?" Brennan was sure that all of DC now knew about her and her special agent.

"Ange, please. I am not exactly sure what that means, but the way you are practically salivating with interest and your eyebrow is cocked up in a suggestive manner I can only conclude that you want to know if we had sex. Yes, we are having sexual intercourse, but it is more than just having sex." She paused, not really knowing what to say next, but finally decided to go with, "Don't tell anyone. We just wanted to keep our relationship to ourselves for a little bit. We needed to get used to being together without…"

"Oh. My. God."

"You have already said that."

"Booth knocked you up?" Brennan didn't know how it was possible, but her best friend's smile get even bigger and brighter at the realization.

"Again, I don't know what that means; however, I am afraid that this new development is going to ruin everything. I was afraid that taking the step into the relationship would somehow tear our friendship apart if it were to end badly. We were afraid for everyone to find out; we don't want the FBI to split us up. This will certainly do it. Even if Sweets gives the okay for us as a couple, I am quite certain that once he knows that there is a baby involved now that he will make the recommendation to split us up. I don't—"

"Slow down, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. It will be okay, Sweetie. Calm down. First, I just want to say I am happy for you two. Second, you belong together, and I am sure everyone will be glad that you now see what we have seen for quite some time. Third, don't worry about the FBI. I will kill Sweets if he doesn't give the okay for your guys to work together. Just wait on the tests."

The alarm on Brennan's phone started to go off. "I can't look. I actually feel like I could be sick again. Can you go look?" Brennan's eyes pleaded with her.

Just then the front door flung open, "Hey Bones! I brought us some lunch from—Angela, hi. What are you—" He cut himself off at the sight of his Bones sitting on the couch in tears. "Bones, are you crying?"

"Booth," there was a hitch in her voice as she tried to speak, and he immediately knew that something was going on; "I need to tell you something."

Booth could feel his breathing go shallow. In the span of a few minutes many scenarios flashed through his mind that would be severe enough to have his partner is such a state. _Did something happen to Max or Russ? Worse yet, did one of them leave again? Is she going to break up with me? Is she physically injured? _"Bones, what is going on? Are you hurt?"

"Uh, I am going to go, Sweetie." Angela had a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on her face that did not go unnoticed by the very observant agent.

"No, Angela, I need you. Please, don't go." She sighed, and then turned to her boyfriend, "Booth?"

"What? What is wrong?" as much as he tried, he could not keep the fear from striking in his voice.

"Angela _knows_," Brennan started to explain.

"Uh, Bones. What is going on here? You mean she knows about—_us_?" he trailed off into a fierce hiss and he had to gather his thoughts before continuing. "Bones, I know we wanted to wait a while before we told anyone, but it's okay. It is nothing to cry about; I am not going to be mad about that."

"No, I know that, but it is why she had to find out about us that is the problem. Well, it isn't really a problem, but it is a big deal. I don't know why I am acting so irrationally. Angela, just go look. I cannot wait any longer."

With that Angela did not say a word and nervously took a stroll to Brennan's bathroom, with Booth hot on her tail because he saw a look in her eyes as Brennan told her to go look and the nervous mannerisms that Angela displayed when she turned to walk away. They left Brennan in shambles on the couch unable to move.

He stood in the doorway to the bathroom with wide curious eyes as they were immediately drawn to the open boxes on the floor and the test wands lined up on the counter. "Angela, what is going—is that—wait, that's a—no, that's four—oh my God, Ange. Is she?"

"Congratulations, daddy Booth!"

Booth was staring at Angela in a complete state of shock; Angela was sure he had stopped breathing. He knew what he saw, but his brain was a little slow about what to do next. His eyes softened, and teared slightly as he choked out his only response. "Yeah?"

He ran back into the living room, and sat next to Brennan, who had not moved from her place on the couch with her hands running worriedly through her hair. He reached over and embraced her in what could only be described as the most intimate loving hug anyone had ever seen. At first, it was an almost awkward side huge as they were both sitting on the couch and he had startled her at first because it happened so quickly. Then, he positioned her to a more comfortable position on his lap. He brought one of his hands down to her tummy, and placed it there gently as he brought his forehead to rest onto hers and lips giving soft gentle kisses. In between kisses he whispered, "Oh, Bones. I love you, so much baby."

Angela felt like she was intruding. She decided to tell Brennan to call her later, but she knew neither one of them heard her. Finally, she caught Booth's eyes, and he gave the nod to her that let her know she was no longer needed. So, she left quietly smiling at couple, and decided she would call her friend later.

"Bones."

"Booth, I had no idea. I am completely shocked. I am a scientist, I should have known. I should have recognized the signs sooner; they have been there for awhile. I guess my mind was just not satisfied with the evidence that was present; it just needed more to go off of. I was just making a shopping list so you could pick a few things up for me, and then the next thing I knew I was calling Angela. She did what I asked her to do discreetly, but then she saw the flowers, asked if they were from my baby-daddy, and she read the card before I could stop her. She figured it out immediately. And if that isn't enough to process—the tests were positive weren't they?"

"Yeah, they were. All of them." She leaned into Booth's shoulder, and he could feel her wet tears soaking through his dress shirt. "Baby, hush. Just stop. Don't cry." He sighed. "Bones, what's wrong?"

"Booth, I'm scared," she sobbed.

"Oh, no. Bones, no. This is a happy thing. We established a long time ago that you wanted a baby. I know we have not really discussed it since my surgery, but now it is finally happening, the _right _way. We can get through this. What are you afraid of?"

"The FBI."

"Right. Well, do they even have to know? It isn't like they are going to arrest you for having my baby." he grinned mischievously.

"You cannot lie to the FBI, Booth."

"I am the FBI." He flashed his overly cocky smile, and all Brennan could do was smile back. "There isn't anything to worry about. I know we cannot keep it from them. You probably have some time before you start showing, so that could buy us some time to figure it out. Although, I'm not sure I am going to let you go out into the field like you usually do."

"Booth, I'm pregnant, not an invalid." Brennan rolled her eyes at her partner's insane implication.

"I know. I didn't say that you are incapable. I—I am just concerned about your safety. We don't exactly have the safest jobs what with the murder scenes, dangerous suspects, murderers, and the occasional shootout and all. In fact, with some of the chemicals present at the lab, I am not sure I am going to let you go there either."

"I have a job, and I simply cannot just take off."

"I know. You're right, but that doesn't keep me from thinking like that."

"Thanks, Booth. I understand that your alpha-male tendencies give you the instinct to protect your mate and your offspring. Really, I will be fine." She placed her hand on his hand that was still placed on her tummy.

"Offspring? No, that's a baby. Our baby. Wow, Bones. A baby." He rubbed his fingers lightly over the skin on her abdomen. "So, I guess this means you are not really sick, and I don't have to keep away from you anymore like you have the plague or some gross disease," he teased.

"The plague, really?" she halfheartedly laughed.

"Oh, no. Don't take that the wrong way. I just didn't want to get sick, too. Who would take care of you if I got sick, too?" he asked as he smoothed her hair away from her face, and tucked it behind her ear. He brought his hands to cup her cheeks, and stroked his thumbs over the trails of tears still streaming down her face.

"What did I do to deserve you, us, _this_?" she asked sincerely.

"What didn't you do? You are an amazing person. You always try to right the wrong in everything you do. You don't eat meat because of the poor treatment of the animals. You only wear earth friendly clothes. You drive a hybrid when you aren't carpooling with me. You help me find the justice for victims of horrible crimes. You deserve to be happy, everyone does, but some people just choose not to be. You and I, we chose to be happy. _Together_."

A few minutes pass by. Booth pulls away from Brennan. "Why Angela? Why didn't you call me?"

"I was scared. I don't know. I'm sorry. I think I just needed a girl to talk to, and Angela, she has had a pregnancy scare before. I thought that she would know what I was going through and she could help me."

"No, don't be sorry. I am not sure I would have been sane enough to be able to walk up to a shelf, grab what I needed, pay for it, and get here in one piece, much less drive here without wrecking everyone on the way." He said in complete understanding of her calling Angela. "So, Angela..."

She knew what he was asking before he even got the words out. "Angela will not say anything. I know that her past with gossip is something to worry about, but I think she understands this situation and how important it is to keep it quiet for now."

"I don't want to wait very long. Keeping our relationship a secret was enough of a challenge, but people are going to notice you are pregnant. You work with scientists. They aren't exactly the bottom of the totem pole of knowledge, and they are some of the most observant people on the planet."

"I know; you're right. Can we at least make an appointment first and confirm? With my symptoms and four positive tests, I have no doubt, but I need to check everything out, make sure it is okay, and find out how far along I am before we just go announce this news to everyone. However, I don't see any reason to keep our actual relationship a secret anymore."

"Yeah?" His eyes lit up at the thought of letting the world know that she was _his_.

"Yeah." She smiled brightly, and placed her forehead against his.

For the rest of his break they sat in a comfortable companionable silence. His loving eyes and big _I'm-going-to-be-a-father _grin told her that everything would be okay.

* * *

**So, there you have it. Several of you have already guessed. A puking Brennan is not exactly unpredictable. She works with gross stuff all day, so she isn't a puker. So, when she does throw up then there must be one of two things going on. 1: she could have some horrible life threatening disease, or 2: she could be pregnant, which anytime Brennan is sick everyone automatically assumes. That coupled with the fact that I placed this story in the Family category may have given it away. Nevertheless, a story with a pregnant Brennan is almost always enjoyable.**

**Review.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	4. Socks and Toes

**Since we are now less than a week from season 6, I am being generous with another update. Longest chapter, so far. Let the fun with Angela ensue! Enjoy.**

* * *

Booth's lunch hour was up before the partners were ready for it to be. He had to leave her, and she immediately called Angela back to her side. Angela wasn't doing anything important at work anyway. Cam saw the look on Angela's face when she returned after lunch, and sensed that she wanted to go check on Brennan and gave her rest of the afternoon off, not knowing that she had just come from seeing her friend. Angela knew Booth probably couldn't stay for very long so she just patiently waited for her friend to call her.

It was a real relief to finally have someone she could talk to about her relationship with Booth. When Angela showed up Brennan's mood had already significantly changed to a happier and more glowing nature befitting an expectant mother. Clearly, Booth had calmed her down and reassured her in the way that only he was capable.

Brennan stepped aside to let Angela in the living room. The two walked over to the couch and sat next to each other. Angela leaned in to give her friend a hug.

"Hey, Sweetie. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes. I am doing better. Booth assured me everything would be okay, and the nausea is not as strong as it was earlier."

"Great. Do you feel up to some shopping?"

"Ange, I don't know. There are times when I can barely stand without getting dizzy or nauseous."

"Come on. Please. We are in some serious need for some girl time, a little shopping, juicy details, and definitely some pampering at the spa."

"Going to the spa does sound nice." Brennan smiled back at her friend and agreed to go out for some girl time.

**B&B**

The two women were sitting in chairs with their feet in little foot spas getting pedicures. Angela insisted on getting the deluxe deal with the hot rocks, massage, paraffin wax, and well, pretty much the works.

"Oh, I just love having someone else take care of me like this. I love how the warm swirling water relaxes my legs, and then they also massage your muscles with those fantastic hot rocks. So, what color or design are you going to get on your toes?"

"This does feel quite soothing. I did not realize how fatigued my muscles really were until now. I don't know what color, maybe just this soft pink." Brennan held up the bottle that she picked up.

"No, Bren. That's boring. Get something that makes your toes look super sexy. If you are going to go for a single color, it needs to be something smoking hot like a vivid purple. They have a display of designs you can get as well," Angela pointed out. "You can get tiger stripes, polka dots, cute little flowers, or you can even get a little jewel glued on."

"I can't decide. What do you think?" Brennan shrugged. Truth be told she really didn't care what was on her toes, but she figured it was better to just go along with whatever would satisfy Angela.

After some thought, Angela picked the perfect design for her friend. "I have the perfect idea; something that will drive Booth wild. Think about his socks. What crazy design is on his favorite pair of socks?"

"I don't know he has so many. Today, he wore his red and black striped socks. He does wear those socks a lot, but I am not sure if they are his favorite."

Angela gasped with excitement, "Perfect. Red and black is always sexy. If they are not already his favorite, they will be when he sees your toes."

Several minutes went by as the two ladies enjoyed their massages.

Brennan turned to face her friend. "Ange, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about us. We just wanted it to be _ours _for a little while."

"I know, and I cannot say that it doesn't make me a little mad that you didn't trust me with that, but, Bren, you are my best friend. What counts is that you trusted me when you needed me. I will always be here for you. You know that."

"Thanks, Angela." Brennan smiled at her ridiculously happy looking friend.

"So, a baby Booth, huh? This kid is going to be the most adorable thing on the planet. Your eyes. His smile. Pretty much kick ass. So, what do you want? Boy or girl?"

"I haven't given it much thought. I suppose I would be happy with either provided he or she is healthy."

"But if you had to pick?" Angela pried.

"A boy, but I wouldn't mind having one of each, you know, in the future."

"Aw, that is so sweet; you're already thinking about the future."

After leaving the salon the two friends entered a bookstore to browse their different interests.

A few minutes of browsing the shelves went by as Angela purposely slipped into the life and wellness section. "Brennan. Come look at all of these books about pregnancy. I know you are a genius scientist, and you _know_ what your body is going to be going through. But maybe it would be helpful to get a book on what you can expect with each week."

"That is a great idea, having never been through this before I may need all of the advice I can get, especially on controlling the nausea. Oh, look. They also have books for expectant fathers. Even though Booth has Parker, he didn't exactly get to go through this experience with Rebecca. She wouldn't let him. I think I will get one for him."

"I cannot believe she didn't want him involved in her pregnancy."

"He is the most wonderful man I have ever met. He is a wonderful father. I cannot imagine pushing him away and wanting to go through this alone."

Hearing those words come out of Brennan's mouth left Angela feeling so warm and fuzzy inside. It is hard to believe that this is the same person she first met seven years ago when she was hired as the forensic artist at the Jeffersonian.

"Okay, let's go check out. There is one more place I want to take you before we call it a day."

As they walk into the next department store with all of their bags from purchases made in other stores, Brennan immediately knew what her friend was up to. She walked slightly into the store and stopped short of fully entering the department store.

"Ange—"

"Bren." Angela replied in a snarky tone. "You need something sexy to wear with those sexy toes. You should pick something that would give Booth something from his dreams. There are several styles of these little baby-doll teddies that you would be able to wear throughout a lot of pregnancy."

"Angela. I don't know. I already have plenty of—"

Angela took Brennan's hand in hers and led her further into the store. She shook her head as she cut Brennan off, "No, trust me. You can never have enough, and besides chances are the things you already have will not fit for much longer. We need to find something that is sexy as hell, but also will accommodate a cute little baby bump for a while."

"Fine. Do you see anything like that?" Brennan took her hand back and stood with her arms crossed across her chest.

"Oh, absolutely." Angela pointed to a mannequin wearing a black baby-doll teddy with red satin trim. The top part of the bustier is made out of a black satin while the fabric that trailed down around the abdomen was a very delicate black lace that would, indeed, allow for a pregnant belly. "What about this one?"

"That looks like a reasonable choice. Let me go try it on." She grabbed it off the rack and headed toward the fitting rooms.

Angela grabbed another one off a rack and shoved it toward her friend. "Here, this one, too.

Brennan walked to the fitting room, and tried on the first item. She looked in the mirror, and had to admit that she was quite impressed with how it looked on her.

It had been long enough for an impatient Angela. "Brennan? Care to show me?"

Brennan poked her head out of the door at her friend. I don't know. I like it, but I don't know if I am comfortable with you seeing me in something that is clearly meant for only Booth to see."

"I understand. So, one question." Angela crossed her arms, and gave her friend a sly smile.

"Sure, ask," Brennan said shutting the door to change into the other one Angela picked out. She was impressed with it as well and decided it wouldn't hurt to get both of them. She changed back into her clothes.

"How is he? Is he as hot in bed as he looks? Give me details. Is he page 187 good?"

"I am not sure I am comfortable answering that question. What is between _us _should just be _ours_, but I will tell you that he is the best I have _ever _had. That is saying a lot." Emerging from the little room, Brennan decided that she would definitely be purchasing both negligees. "Okay, I will get these. Booth will certainly enjoy looking at them. Although, I cannot say that I will ready to make love for a while. "

"Make love? Sweetie, I have never heard you call sex _that_. This really is for real, isn't it?"

"Yes. It is. I have never really had the desire to let anyone be a permanent part of my life the way he has been in my life, that is, until him. He is the only man that I ever want to be with. I trust him more than anyone else. I find myself wanting to be with him when he is not around, which to be honest is not very often because he is always around. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I knew he was the one for you. He has been in love with you for several years, and I am glad that you finally realized it can be mutual. Hey, let's get you home. Booth is bound to get home anytime now. I am sure he would want to get dinner and spend a nice quiet evening in with you."

The drive back to Brennan's apartment was mostly small talk until Angela pulled into the parking lot to help Brennan carry her bags up to the apartment.

"Ange? Booth and I would like to keep this a secret for a little while. We are going to tell people about our relationship before we drop the missile about the pregnancy."

"I think you mean drop the bomb, Bren, but yeah. Don't worry I get it."

"We just want to get through the first doctor appointment, and find out how far along I am first. Plus, the FBI might split us up, so we have to be prepared for how to handle this before we tell people."

"Okay, secret's safe with me. Not even Hodgins is going to know."

"Th—" Brennan was cut short practically before she started to speak by a sudden wave of nausea which made a rapid trek to the bathroom very necessary.

Angela followed her friend to the bathroom to check on her. "Brennan? Are you okay?"

The question was followed by a silence during which Brennan was trying to compose herself enough to answer. Angela got a little anxious and tapped on the door before opening it and asking again how she was.

"I am okay. That just…I was fine, and then I wasn't."

"Yeah, I heard it can be like that. I'm sorry. Do you need me to get you anything?"

"There are washcloths in the cabinet above the toilet. Could you run it under some cold water for me?"

"Sure. Would you want me to stay until Booth gets here?"

"That won't be necessary. It should not be too long. I am feeling much better now. Actually, I think I just heard the door close."

"Bones? Hey, Bones. Where are you?"

"Hey, Booth we're in the bathroom." Angela answered.

Booth tapped on the slightly cracked door, and pushed it open. "Oh, hey, Ange." He turned to see Brennan kneeling down by the toilet, "Bones, are you sick again?"

"Yeah, just now," replied Angela. "She was fine most of the time we were gone shopping, but when we got here she nearly spewed before we got in the front door. Well, now that you are here, I am going to take off. I will see you both later."

"Thanks, Angela. Hey, baby. How are you feeling?" Booth walked up behind Brennan, and handed her the cold washcloth Angela just wrung out. Then, he knelt down beside her just as he had before to rub soothing circles on her back.

"It would be lying for me to say that I am fine, but I think the nausea is passing. This kid is definitely yours. A pain in the ass." She raised her head, and turned enough to Booth to give a slight smile.

"Very funny, Bones. Did you call to schedule an appointment?"

"Yes. I was able to get scheduled for tomorrow. They recognized my name, I think."

"Oh, a little special treatment, eh? Sometimes it pays off to be a New York Times best-selling author." He smiled. "Let's get you up, and get you something to drink."

Booth helped Brennan stand and walked her from the bathroom to the kitchen with his arms around her waist. He poured her a glass of cold water, and turned around to the fridge to open it to grab a beer for himself when he noticed the grocery list. "Is this the list you were talking about earlier?" Looking at the items on the list he immediately noticed a few things that would no longer be needed. "Bones, we can cross two of these items off of the list for while. You won't be needing any of those...you know. Those female things, and no more wine."

"Yeah, I guess not. I also won't be able to have coffee or any other caffeine."

"Oh, no. Coffee, too? Glad I'm not pregnant. Coffee is staying on the list. You aren't going to get all jealous and try to steal my coffee in the morning are you?"

"Booth, men cannot get pregnant, and I don't think so. I can still have decaf. I don't know how I am supposed to make it through my workday without my normal caffeine intake, but I am sure I will m—"

Booth cut her off to interject about her hours. "No. You will not be working your normal workday. Not happening, Bones."

"Booth, you don't have a say the amount of hours I work."

"Bones, you hold horrible inconsistent hours that would be hard on a normal person. You will need to keep a routine schedule so that your body can do what it needs to for our baby."

"You are not my boss."

"Look, I am not ordering you around. Think of this as my alpha male whatever kicking in to ensure my kid and her mother is healthy."

"Alright, fine. How about I work from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm each day? I have been finding myself getting fatigued very easily. I guess I know why now." His use of the gender specific word did not go unnoticed by her. She made note of it, and filed it in her head to pull out for a conversation at another time.

"Deal. Now that we have settled that, we need to discuss this little tendency you have to skip meals. That is going to stop. Since you won't be holed up in the lab all night, you will be less likely to skip dinner, but from now on, I spend breakfast, lunch, and dinner making sure you eat." He bent down to her stomach and spoke into it, "daddy has to make sure our little baby gets fed properly."

"Deal, but right now I am not sure I can keep anything down."

He stood back up to face her. "Think you can keep down at least some fruit? I think you still have some strawberries, grapes, and kiwi left." He walked over to the fridge and pulled the fruit out, and placed it on the counter. "Yep, see. I will prepare them for you if you would like. You don't have to eat a lot, just try."

"I can try." She nodded unsure of her ability to keep even just the glass of water down. "I bought some things today. Angela took me out for some girl time. We went to the spa and did a little bit of shopping. We stopped in the bookstore, and I picked up a few books. Several for me, and a book for you."

"For me?"

"For expectant fathers. It details things that I will be going through physically and emotionally. Just things you can expect. I know you didn't really get to go through this with Rebecca when she was pregnant with Parker."

"Thanks. It means a lot that you were thinking of the fact that this is basically a first for me, too." He took her hand and threaded his fingers through hers as he set a bowl of fruit in front of her. "Eat up. As much as you feel you can. I ordered me a burger and fries from that new place that delivers. Hope it's good. You know I don't like to try new things, being a creature of habit and all."

"I know. You practically threatened Sid with his life after they stopped making your favorite dish at Wong Fu's."

"What? I did not!"

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Yes. Seeley Booth, yes you did."

"Okay. Yeah, maybe I did. Not one of my finest moments. Let's agree to keep that one locked away with the whole shooting the clown thing."

"Well, for what it is worth," Brennan linked her arm in his, "I know you wouldn't have ever hurt him. You're a good man, Booth."

Looking into her eyes, Booth nodded at the compliment and flashed an almost shy modest smile.

They continued to eat in a comfortable silence, and then put in a movie to watch before going to bed. As they got themselves ready for bed, each did their own little routine to prepare themselves for the night. Brennan brushed her teeth, and changed into her usual attire consisting of one of Booth's FBI t-shirts and not much else. She was not yet ready to wear her new purchase from earlier. She bought it a little big to accommodate for the changes that are sure to happen to her body soon, but most of all she was not really in the mood for the activities that would be sure to follow Booth seeing her in it.

Brennan walked up behind Booth as he was still brushing his teeth at the sink. She reached her arms around his waist. She was not always adept at reading emotions on people's faces, but those of Seeley Booth were a little easier for her to discern. She could tell that he was in a different mood from earlier. He couldn't seem to keep a cocky excited grin from his face earlier, and now it was clear something was bothering him.

"Booth, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I am very happy. We are having a baby!"

She shook her head as their eyes met in the mirror. "No, I know you are happy about that, but we both know that is not what I was asking you about."

He turned to face her, took her hand, lead to the bedroom and to the bed. He pulled the covers back for her to get in. While she was getting in bed Booth noticed her toes.

"Bones, your toes are lookin' pretty hot. Is this the handy work of Angela? They kinda look like the socks I just took off."

"Angela took me to the spa and we got our nails done. Angela talked me into getting a design on my toes. She suggested I use a design from one of your favorite pairs of socks, but I didn't know which ones are your favorite pair. So, I just thought of the ones I knew you wore today. I bought something that matches it, but you have to wait to see it. Angela says it is super sexy, and I like it myself. However, I know that if I wore it tonight you would not be able to resist me, but I am not feeling up to having sex tonight. I just need some sleep. Sorry, babe."

Once she was in he pulled the covers up to where she could reach them. He walks around to his side and climbs in next to her.

"Okay, now that you have taken us off topic you can tell me what is on your mind?"

"Bones, I know you have your fears about this, but I have some, too."

She was shocked by his admission. She knew he had trepidations over many things, but never imaged that he would have some about becoming a father again. "You? What could you possibly be afraid of? You are already a parent."

"Well, I would be lying if I said I wasn't also afraid the FBI will split us up, but the thing that scares me the more than that is telling your father."

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. He is quite fond of you."

"I tried to arrest him on several occasions, and then succeeded. Twice."

"Booth, I don't see how that would have anything to do with how my father will take the news. Besides, you arrested and charged me with a felony, and I don't hold that against you. I actually respect the aspect of your honest and loyal dedication to your job." Reaching her hands up to cup his face, Brennan sighed as she looked deep in his eyes. "Booth, he helped me save you because he knew you are important to me. He also _let_ you arrest him to be closer to me."

"Yeah, after he beat the crap out of me. Look, Bones, it might be a miracle that you are even pregnant because of the cheap-shot he threw the jewels."

"Jewels?"

"Yeah, he was on the ground and I was about to cuff him, but he jabbed me in the, you know, down there, the junk, the family jewels, or as you would probably refer to as testicles." He said as he pointed to the region he was trying to indicate. He gave a slight chuckle as he remembered back to the pony play case where they went to see the butcher. The guy bolted out into the alley where his Bones told him to stop, or she would kick him in the testicles.

"Oh. Well, why didn't you just say testicles?"

"Because, Bones. Just drop it. Anyway, I am not afraid of telling Max about us, because he has been practically asking me if I was gay for years. He seemed to think that we had a connection on a romantic level before we did. Actually, I get that feeling from several people, but anyway he has also threatened me to not hurt you before we were ever together. But, now, here we are, no one knows about us, and you are pregnant. We are going to have a lot of explaining to do, and not just to your father."

"I know. Can we just get some sleep right now, and talk about this tomorrow? My appointment is at 9:30 in the morning. You are going with me, right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for anything." He flashed his bright beaming grin at her.

He snuggled up next to her, and put his arms around her and pulled her in closer to him. She threw one arm over his waist, and laid her head on his bare chest. She breathed his scent in deeply. No one could be as comforting and relaxing just by his scent as the man lying next to her.

"Goodnight, Bones. Good night baby. I love you both."

"We love you, too. Goodnight."

* * *

**Review. I love getting **_**constructive**_** criticism and suggestions. Seriously, if you feel that one of the characters is slightly off, tell me. Even though I have the next several chapters already written. You never know how much your suggestions may influence a slight amendment to made. **

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	5. Jelly Bean and a Heartbeat

**Hart Hanson totally retweeted one of my posts last night. That makes me so irrationally giddy; it's unfreakingbelieveable. LOL Makes me feel special. I think I just died a little. Gah, I am such a dork.**

**The first appointment. Enjoy.**

* * *

Brennan woke up, and reached over to Booth's side of the bed hoping to pull herself closer to him. She quickly realized he was not there when she found only cold sheets, and noticed the smell of coffee and a strong urge to relieve herself. She also made note of the fact that she, surprisingly, was not feeling nauseous. She was sure that it wouldn't last, but it was definitely a relief for the time being. She really did not want to have to go to the appointment worrying about getting sick.

She emerged from the bathroom to see Booth standing near to doorway. "Good morning, baby," he said leaning down his face to Brennan's tummy, and reaching out a hand to lightly graze it with his fingers. Then, standing up straight, he reached around Brennan's waist, and pulled her for soft a good morning kiss. "Good morning, Bones."

"Good morning," she mumbled groggily.

Booth took her arm, linked his in hers, and they walked joined together into the kitchen. "I made some coffee, but you cannot have any—"

"Booth, don't tease. It isn't nice," she whined and then pouted.

"I wasn't teasing. You didn't let me finish. I made some coffee. Regular for me, and decaf for you. I also made you some toast. I read a few pages of the book you bought me. It says that to help with nausea you need to eat several small meals a day. Dry toast was at the top of the list of items that many can tolerate in the morning."

Sitting down at the table she smiled at him as he brought over her plate of toast and her coffee. "Thanks. You really don't have to go through all of the trouble."

"It is no trouble. I like taking care of you."

"I can take care of myself."

"I know I didn't say you couldn't, but I want to help you. Okay? Can you just let me take care of my family?"

"Okay." She smiled. "Booth?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think I have told you how happy I am. I know I was practically frozen with shock, fear, and uncertainty when you came home for lunch yesterday. I just wanted you to know."

"Aw, thanks, baby. Me too. I am very happy. I know I was happy when you and I got together, and I know I was happy when I found out when Rebecca was pregnant with Parker, and when he was born, but I don't think I have ever been _this _happy before. With Parker, I wasn't allowed near Rebecca during much of the pregnancy because she wouldn't let me, and I was overseas when he was born. It is different this time because I get to be an active part of this one. _With you._"

It was possibly one of the most beautiful responses she had ever received. He didn't expect her to know how to respond. He was content to know that she was happy, and that was all that mattered. She started to cry happy tears when she glanced at the clock noting the time. "Booth, we need to get ready. We cannot be late."

**B&B**

In the waiting room they were sitting among women who were in different stages in their pregnancies. It was fairly obvious that this was their first time in the office, and that they were both nervous. Brennan looked through the magazines on the side table. She quickly flipped through the pages, but did not really pay much attention other than just a passing glance at the pages. Booth knew she wasn't paying any attention to the material in her hands.

Booth was sitting in the seat next to her with his arm around her, but he couldn't sit still. He shifted in his seat at least once or twice a minute, and he couldn't keep from bouncing his leg nervously, just as he did in their appointments with Sweets.

Brennan placed a hand on his knee to steady the bouncing. "Babe, you have to stop shaking your leg when you have your arm around me; I feel like I am about to get motion sickness." Brennan knew he was nervous by his actions, and she was too, but she had no desire to hurl before her appointment. A voice called out to them telling them that Brennan is up next.

The nurse took the couple into the back and got her weight and took her blood pressure. She walked them into an exam room.

"Okay, Dr. Brennan, we need you to pee in this cup, and then when you are done we can draw your blood."

"Okay." She took the cup, and headed for the small bathroom just down the hall.

"I'll just wait here." Booth said uncomfortably.

"Good, because I don't need help." Brennan quipped, shutting the door.

After a few minutes, Brennan emerged from the room with the cup. "Sorry, it took a while. I find it hard to urinate on demand, even with the strong urge to go."

"Not to worry, many women find it difficult. Okay, Dr. Brennan, I will take the cup. You take a seat in this chair, and we will draw your blood. We are going to take three vials today." She cleaned and prepped the area. "Alright, breathe out, big stick. There we go." She changed vials and filled each one with no problem. "All done." She started wrapping the stretchy material that sticks to itself around the area. "Keep this on for at least four hours; the pressure will help keep the area from allowing blood to pool under the skin to cause a pretty gnarly bruise."

"Gnarly?" Brennan's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Gross, Bones."

"Oh." Her face relaxed a little as she noted the term in the back of her mind for future reference.

The tech labeled the vials, and sent them promptly to the lab. "We should have results in about twenty minutes. If you are willing to wait, then we can discuss the results. If not we can give you a call. However, if you wait we might be able to get you in for an ultrasound today."

"We can wait," Booth replied.

"Booth, you have to work."

He lightly gripped her arm, and turned her to face him. He put both hands on her shoulders firmly. "No, nothing is more important than _this_, right now. I am not going anywhere."

"All right, then. We will wait." Brennan smiled and nodded as she turned to the nurse.

The nurse took them back to the waiting room, and told them that they will be called back in as soon as they can be seen.

During the wait they made small talk about this and that. Booth told Brennan about developments on the case. Even though she had really only missed a day and a half, so far, they had already made good progress. He told her they were close to getting this one solved. They had figured out that the heart surgeon's wife was not the biological mother to the boy, and that she was the one who was abusing him. They also found out that she had a background of violence against other children, even in her own family. Booth was sure that she was the murderer, but they had yet to find suitable evidence. The fact that the father threw up all kinds of red flags from the beginning suggested that he at least knew his wife was abusive to the boy, even if he didn't know about the murder.

"Temperance Brennan?" A voice called out to them. They stood and walked hand-in-hand back to the doctor's office. They sat in the two chairs in front of the doctor's desk awaiting their confirmation of what they already knew.

"Dr. Brennan, you are, indeed, pregnant."

The couple looked into each other's eyes, and they shared a light loving kiss before turning their attention back to the doctor.

"Looking over your charts from previous visits, I see that this will be your first baby. Also, I see that you were on the birth control, Yaz. Am I to assume you stopped taking it to try to get pregnant?"

Brennan looked over to Booth's curious face, and replied honestly. "No, I did not. I know that it is not always one-hundred percent effective. I guess we are in that small percent. I never stopped taking it. I also saw no need for us to use protection since we are both clean. Although, it might be possible that I didn't always take them on a consistent schedule because of our demanding jobs."

Booth shifted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable with the very open discussion, and decided to lighten it up a little with some humor with a thousand-watt smile. "Bones, or it could be that I really do have super-sperm. Not even your fancy pills can keep them at bay."

Brennan looked over to Booth again, amazed at how cocky he could be at times.

"Uh, okay, well." This time it was Dr. Matthews that was uncomfortable. "If you have not already stopped taking it, then you need to do so. I am going to write you a few prescriptions for some pre-natal vitamins and supplements. The supplements will be very important as I see here that you are a vegetarian."

"Yes. I am." Brennan confirmed. "Thanks."

"Okay, great. When can I find out how far along we are?" Booth asked.

"Right now. We can go do an ultrasound for you. Follow me." They walked down the hall to an exam room. The doctor pulled out two pieces of fabric. One to wrap around her upper body and the second for the lower half. "Just make yourself comfortable on the exam bed when you are finished dressing. I will be back in about five minutes." The door closed behind him.

"Bones, would you like me to step out for a second?"

"That won't be necessary. You have obviously seen me nude, Booth." She quickly changed, and handed her clothes to Booth. "Here, hold these." Then she reached up and gave him a quick kiss before settling onto the table.

There was a knock at the door. "Are we all set?" The doctor grabbed a few things and wheeled the machine over and took a seat on a stool next to the bed. Booth was sitting on the other side of the bed with Brennan's hand in his.

"Okay, time to expose the lower abdomen. Just a little lower. Yeah, that should be good. Look at that." The doctor gestured around her tummy. "You are already starting to show."

Brennan looked at Booth as his eyes widened. He saw it too. While she was still fairly flat. He could tell she was starting to round out just a little.

"Okay, this is going to be a little on the cold side," the doctor says just before squeezing a glob of jelly onto the area. "Okay, eyes on the screen. There. There it is. Let me turn on the volume so you can hear the heartbeat."

"Aw, Bones. It looks like a jelly bean."

"Seeley," She gasped. "Do you hear that?" She squeezed his hand, and he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"Yeah, babe. I do."

At this point both of their eyes started getting teary.

"That is the sac around the fetus. This," he pointed to a fuzzy area, "is the baby. Let me do some measuring, and then based on that we should be able to tell how far along you are." The doctor did some pointing and dragging of some measuring tool on the computer, and typed a few things in for calculations. "The fetus looks to be about two and a half inches long. Given the measurements and results from your blood tests I calculate that you are eleven weeks and five days in, which explains the fact that you are already starting to show."

"Eleven weeks and five days? That's impossible. I have only just missed my cycle this month. That's over two months, close to three!"

"Yes. Some women experience something called spotting in the first few months. Some women mistake this for their cycle. So, you are actually a little further along than you might have expected to be. It happens more often than you would think."

"So, she was bleeding? Is everything okay?" Even though he was not entirely comfortable with the conversation, he pulled himself together enough to ask questions to be sure that nothing was wrong.

"No, Mr. Booth. Everything is fine. She is healthy, and the fetus is also healthy. Spotting is not uncommon, and may be due to the fact that she was still taking the birth control. It could also be stress related. You two have very stressful jobs. Take measures to reduce the stress as much as you can or it could lead to problems and probably result in being ordered bed rest."

The doctor did a few more things on the computer, and printed out a few pictures for the couple to take.

"We will get you set up for another appointment in a few weeks. Congratulations, you two. I will leave you to change, and you can get set up for the next appointment with the receptionist up front. Have a good day."

The door shut and Booth handed Brennan a few napkins to clean off her tummy before redressing. Booth had barely taken his eyes off of the photos since taking them in his hands. "Bones, look at our little jelly bean! Eleven weeks and five days. Wow."

The two took a few minutes to look at the pictures before Brennan spoke. "Alright, let's go. I need to go get some rest. I feel exhausted already, and you have to go to work. I may be able to head into the lab later today to get some work done."

They were walking to the SUV when Booth decided that he was going to spend a few more hours with Brennan and go to work after lunch. "How about we go home, and get you something to snack on, and then I can keep you company while you rest. I can go into work after lunch, and if you feel like it then I can take you to the lab."

Brennan nodded. They sat in a comfortable silence all the way back to Brennan's apartment.

They arrived home and Booth fixed a snack for Brennan, and brought it to her as she laid on the couch. He motioned for her to sit up so he could sit behind her with her in the v of his legs. After sitting, he reached his arms around her torso, and placed his hands on her lower abdomen.

After a few minutes he reached for a book. Not his book, but one of her pregnancy books. He turned to the section on week eleven. "Bones? This book says that your morning sickness should be coming to an end soon."

"I guess I lucked out that I didn't have it much sooner."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Lucked out? You don't believe in luck."

"Booth, there are many concepts that I have said I did not believe in, but you have shown me that so many of them are valid. I find it harder and harder to dismiss what I still have doubts about. You have opened my mind to so much."

"Good to know. I might use that statement to my advantage one day. So, please remember you said it." She could feel his smile as he laid kisses on her shoulder. He reached one of his hands back around her and placed them back on her abdomen. "Yeah, I can definitely feel our little jelly bean in there. Although, she feels more like a grapefruit. Here, feel." He gently tugged her hand to her own tummy and pressed slightly.

_There is was again. He referred to a gender. He wanted a girl. Not only that, he keeps referencing food. Is he really always hungry? _

"Yeah, I do feel it. Apparently the doctor could already see it, and from the look on your face at the time you saw it, too. I am much further than I initially thought I would be." She looked down at her tummy, and she removed both of their hands before raising her shirt up and exposing her stomach. "I guess I have started to round out slightly, but you really do have to look hard to see it." She brought Booth's hand back to where it previously rested, now on her bare skin.

"Do you think that maybe we should start telling people? You are almost twelve weeks along," he asked. He did not want to press her into it, but they needed to do it soon.

"Yes. I was just thinking the same thing. Can we tell my father first? I can call him, and he can come here if he isn't busy."

"Yeah, we can do that."

Brennan picked up her phone and dialed her father's number. Since he had been out of jail, he had started to carry a phone with him, whereas before his arrest he didn't trust phones.

"Hello."

"Hi, dad. It's me."

"Hi, honey. Do you need something? I heard from Cam that you were ill."

"Dad, I'm fine. Could you come to my apartment? I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, Tempe. I can be there in a few minutes."

"Thanks. We will be waiting."

There was a pause that left an uneasy feeling in Brennan's stomach as she realized that what she just said indicated that she was not alone, and that her dad would surely know that meant Booth was there with her.

"We?"

"Dad, just get here soon, please?"

"Okay. I will."

"See you soon."

* * *

**The next chapter will be somewhat short. They tell Max.**

**Review.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	6. Message Sent and Received

**Max. Enjoy. :)  
**

* * *

She closed her phone, and looked over to Booth, who looked like he was about to explode with anxiety. She placed her hand on his knee, and assured him that everything would be okay. After a few long minutes of waiting Max knocked on the door, and Booth got up to let him in.

Brennan stood and grabbed his hand to gently tug him to stand as well. She turned him to face her, and wrapped her arms around his waist pressing her hips and lower abdomen into his. They stood in each others' arms for a few minutes seeking the strength in each others' eyes. Finally, she spoke.

"There is nothing to worry about. My father respects and trusts you. That says a lot in itself. Being the ex-criminal he is, my father can be somewhat paranoid. I am quite positive that if he was not comfortable with me being around you, he would have done something about it long before now." She only received a nod and a soft kiss in response. "Why don't you go to the kitchen, and get started on making lunch for all of us. It should keep your mind busy for now."

Not long after, Max knocked on the door, and Booth emerged from the kitchen to let him in. "Baby, I will get the door. Stay seated."

Booth opened the door, shook the man's hand, and stepped aside to let him in.

"Hello, Max."

"Agent Booth. Always a pleasure, as long as I'm not here so you can arrest me," he laughed. "I knew I could expect to find you here judging from the way Tempe talked on the phone."

Sitting up on the couch Brennan greeted her father, "Dad, thank you for coming. Please, have a seat."

"Is everything alright? Agent Booth looks nervous." He smiled. He was no fool. He knew why he was here, on one count at least. He played along anyway, partially to let his daughter do this her way, and partially to let Booth sweat a little. Yeah, they had a mutual respect for each other, and they shared the common interest of Brennan's well-being, but Max felt like it did no harm in making himself absolutely clear as to how he expects Booth to treat his little girl.

"He thinks he has a reason to be, but I assured him you wouldn't hurt him."

"Hurt him? Honey, what—oh, I get it. So, Booth, you and my daughter, huh?" He turned his gaze to Booth.

Being able to read body language, facial expressions, and just the general personal interactions, Booth didn't miss the glint in Max's eyes that held a very clear unspoken message.

Message sent.

Message received.

Still, Booth knew this would not be the only time Max would make his position clear to Booth. He just didn't know when, where, or how the next message would come.

"Well, sir, I—" Booth stammered. "Yeah." He nodded, thinking it wise to keep his answer simple. _Smooth. Real smooth, Seel. Make yourself look like a stuttering idiot._

"Took you long enough, kid. I was just joking before when I asked if you were gay, but I really was beginning to think you were gay. After spending over five years with my daughter, protecting her, taking a bullet for her, her protecting you, saving each others' lives, I would have figured you would have been together long before now." He chuckled and clapped Booth hard on his back catching him by surprise causing him to jump slightly at the contact.

"Dad, Booth made lunch for all of us. Why don't go sit down at the table and talk about this." Brennan said, in hopes of giving Booth some time to pull himself together a little bit.

They walked into the kitchen and over to her barstools. They each took a grilled cheese sandwich. Brennan also grabbed some vegetable crackers, while Booth and Max helped themselves to some Cheetos. They had been eating silently for a few minutes before Brennan finally decided that she should start the explanation.

"Well, dad, Booth and I have been seeing each other for a little while now. We just didn't tell anyone because we needed time to adjust to having a romantic relationship. We weren't sure how it would affect our partnership professionally or what the FBI would do with the policy against partners engaging into—"

"Okay, Bones. That's enough," he cut her off. _Damn it. Why did you go and interrupt her like that. Now you have to say something. Anything could be better than what Bones was essentially saying. 'Hi, dad. Booth and I have been dating each other for seven months, but we didn't want to tell anyone because the FBI has a policy against partners banging each other.' Yeah, anything you say is going to be better than that. Shit, just don't stick your giant foot in your mouth. _"I…uh—sir, I love your daughter." _Good. That was good. Shaky, but good._

"I know. You are a good man. You are good for her. I couldn't have hand picked a better person." Oh, but that look was still very clear in his eyes.

Booth didn't miss the message still being sent loud and clear, but he somehow still relaxed at the man's words. "So, you're not going to kill me?"

"As long as you don't hurt her, you guys have my blessing. I want for her to be happy."

Booth and Brennan looked at each other. She knew that he could read in her eyes what she was thinking about, and he gave her a slight nod to let her know that it would be okay. She let a smile come over her face.

Max noticed the silent conversation between the couple, and while he didn't know what it was about, it peaked his curiosity. "Earth to the happy couple. Hello? I'm still here. I said you have my blessing. Is there something else bothering you?"

"Dad, I'm pregnant." She reached out and grabbed Booth's hand in hers and threaded her fingers through his. "We just found out." She reached into the pocket of Booth's dress shirt with her other hand, pulled out a ultrasound picture, and handed it to Max.

"She is eleven weeks and five days in. There," he pointed, "that is our little jelly bean," Booth explained with a wide grin on his face, all of the previous anxiety and nerves replaced with sheer joy and elation.

"Aw, honey. This is great. I am so glad you told me. Booth, you are smiling, but you still look pale as a ghost. This is a happy thing, right?"

"Oh, yes, sir. Very happy. We just weren't sure how you would take the news of her being pregnant when you didn't even know about us being together."

"Relax. As I said, you have my blessing. I want Tempe to be happy, and it looks like she is. That is all I can ask for. You have been here for her when I wasn't. I want to be as a part of your lives as much as she will allow, but I understand how hard that is for her."

"Dad, I want you to be involved. I do. If I didn't I would not have told you. Actually, besides Angela, you are the first to know about us and the baby."

"Really?" If it were possible his smile grew brighter.

The rest of their conversation was mostly about what the three were excited about in the next coming months. Max told the couple about memories from when his Ruth was pregnant with Russ or Brennan, and about the first several milestones that they could look forward to. It was getting to be about time to head out to start what was left of their work day, and tell their co-workers.

"Max, it has been a real pleasure to talk to you this morning. We will have to get together again soon. I mean, with everyone else as well. You, Russ, Amy and the girls, Pops, Jared and Padme, the squints."

"Yes, dad. It has been quite enjoyable. Would you mind keeping this quiet until we have disclosed this information to everyone?"

"Yeah, sure. Secret's safe with me. Congratulations, on both counts. I will call you later, baby girl. Make sure to tell Russ. He will want to know."

"I know. Thanks for coming, dad. See you later."

"Take care of them both, Booth." Max said, shaking hands with the man who might as well be his son-in-law.

_Oh, sweet Mother of God and all that is holy. I'm pretty sure that look will never leave that man's face. I can only imagine what he would say to me if Bones weren't standing right beside me. _"Yes, sir," came his unwavering reply.

After the door was shut, Booth wrapped his arms around her as she leaned into his warm strong body and wrapped her arms around him under his suit jacket.

"Bones."

"Hmm?" She leaned her head down to rest between his neck and shoulder, taking in his comforting manly smell.

"I cannot tell you how relieved I am that he knows, and that I am not a dead man. I can only imagine what it will feel like to tell everyone else. It feels like we are carrying the weight of the world with us right now. I hate lying to everyone."

"I know what you mean." She raised her head off of Booth's shoulder, and pulled back enough to bring her face to his for a soft slow kiss. "I know I wanted to tell them about us first and then wait a while before we said anything about the baby, but considering the fact that I'm further along than expected and I'm already starting to show, maybe we should just tell them the whole truth."

"Okay. Good. Let's just get it done. We're going to have to tell Sweets first. We cannot let this information trickle into the FBI's hands without it coming directly from us. I don't know what to expect from this. Then we should make it a priority to swing by Cullen's office to notify him personally."

"I think that is a satisfactory method. I know you don't know what to expect. I don't either. I only know that I love you, and I won't work with anyone else."

"I love you, too. Are you ready?" He grabbed her coat and held it out for her to slip into. He grabbed his gun, badge, coat, and keys and they headed for the door.

"Yes. You?"

"As ready as I will ever be."

* * *

**I hope I didn't disappoint. I am always nervous writing characters like Max. Sweets also makes me nervous. Next chapter: Sweets and Cullen. **

**Review.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	7. Game Changer

Booth and Brennan entered the Hoover on a mission only barely taking the time to greet people as they entered. When they reached their destination they heard the voice of the receptionist outside of the young psychologist's office, "Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan. Good to see you. We don't have you scheduled for today."

"Don't care." Booth quipped. He continued walking with Brennan in tow, both clearly on a mission. Yeah, he was nervous, but at the same time he couldn't wait to shout it from the roof tops. He reached for the door knob when she spoke again.

"Agent Booth, you don't have an appointment, you cannot go in there!"

Brennan tugged Booth's arm and he paused and turned to look at her as she spoke softly to him. "Booth, we don't have an appointment."

"Alright, fine. Janice, is Sweets free right now? Is someone in there?"

"No. He is not with anyone right now."

"Book us for right now." He turned to Brennan. "Now that we have an appointment, let's go."

Dr. Sweets was on the phone with Daisy when the couple burst in the door. His secretary apologized profusely for the interruption, and explained that she tried to hold them back to no avail. Sweets got off of the phone, and instructed the two to have a seat.

"Dr. Brennan, Agent Booth you cannot just barge in here anytime you want. What if I were seeing another patient at this moment? You need to make an appointment. Since you are so adamant that you have to see me right this second, I can see that it is important. I have forty-five minutes until my next appointment shows up. You have until then."

Booth reached over to Brennan and grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers. They shared a glance and a reassuring nod and a smile with each other. As a trained psychologist, Sweets easily picked up on the obvious body language, and his jaw practically fell from his face.

Booth started, "Sweets, you are just going to sit and listen." He looked over to Sweets after he pulled his gaze from Brennan. "You can ask questions later. Get that look off of your face."

"Agent Booth—"

Booth did not let him continue talking, "No, shut up, Sweets, just listen." Booth could not exactly find the words he wanted to say. He didn't want to be cryptic, but he didn't want to just blurt it out. This moment meant a lot to both of them, and he didn't want to be an oaf and ruin it. He looked up as if he were looking passed the ceiling, and passed the sky for some divine strength. Finally, he just let it out. "The dam broke."

Recognizing his own words from the meeting they had several months ago about his book on the pair, all words escaped the young doctor as he struggled to keep off an unprofessional smirk and think of how to respond. He knew that this moment was critical in how this impromptu session would go, so instead of saying, "I told you so" or "I knew it," he settled for something that indicated his interest for Booth to elaborate without saying something that could shut the conversation down in an instant, as was common during their sessions. "I see. Go on."

"Bones and I, we have decided to give this a shot. We are worried about the FBI policy; we thought maybe by coming to you first, you could maybe help us out? Or are we done for, because I _cannot _work with anyone else."

"And I _won't _work with anyone else." Brennan added.

"Sweets, I _love _her. I am _in love_ with her. We are _together _and there is no going back. We have been together for quite some time now, and our closing rate has not suffered nor have there been any slip ups that could have cost one or both of our lives since the change in our personal lives."

"Uh, Agent Booth, if I could just say something real quick. I must say that the FBI did see this coming. That is why they wanted you two to attend these sessions in the first place. I have been assured that as long as you continue to attend therapy as partners, and I deem your relationship healthy, that you will not be split up."

"But the policy—"

"Dr. Brennan, the policy just states that the FBI strongly advises against sexual relationships between partners. Also, you're just contracted as a consultant for the FBI; you're are not employed by the FBI. I believe the policy stands for federal agents only."

"Sweets, how can you be sure of that? You're barely old enough to read much less interpret policies."

"Booth. It may not be wise to insult the person who signs off on our partnership." She whispered rather loudly to Booth, ignoring the fact that the subject was sitting right in from of them.

"Look, I can assure you that you will not be split up on my account. I refuse to be responsible for severing the best partnership the Bureau has ever seen. If it makes you feel better we can have Caroline go over the policy for you just to be clear, but I am telling you that it won't be necessary. When did this relationship turn into more than just partners or just friends?"

"Seven months ago," Brennan replied.

"No, Bones. I knew, right from the beginning, even if it took you a while to put your brain in neutral and pop your heart into overdrive. I think it is safe to say, over five years ago."

"That's interesting that you date it back to that first meeting, Agent Booth. It tells me that you have given this a considerable amount of thought."

"Well, yeah. She is the most amazing person I have ever met, and that goes all the way back to when I first saw her. Ever since then, we started off really rocky. We spent a year apart and were brought together for another case, and then again after I had her detained at the airport. Oh, she hated that. It might even be safe to say she hated me."

Brennan looked at Booth and stopped him right there. "No, Booth. I never hated you. You annoyed me on a severely profound level. When I found out that you had gotten yourself a blond trophy girlfriend during the year we spent apart, I can now admit to some jealousy. After awhile, I found myself subject to more and more of your devastating charm smiles that eventually broke me down and let you into my life."

"Whoa, Bones."

"Horse."

"No. No, word play. Back the truck up. You, Dr. Temperance Brennan, just admitted to being jealous?"

She furrowed her brow, and as usual missed the point, "There is no truck in here, Booth. That would be…"

"Too literal, Bones." He looked back to Sweets and continued, "As we grew closer over the first two years I would come up with random excuses to see her either at the diner or one of our apartments. Well, until Sully came along. After he left and Zach went to war, we fought, a whole lot. I wasn't sure it our partnership could take it. When he came back things seemed to be better between us. Eventually, we just enjoyed spending time together, and didn't bother with excuses."

"Anthropologically speaking, one could say that we have been engaging in the social mores of dating for as long as we have been partners. Dinner for two at restaurants or one of our apartments. Occurrences where one of us would show up to the other's apartment with takeout late at night. Coffee dates. We just didn't see it at the time, and neither one of us were ready to make that first step in the direction to take the relationship to an intimate level. There was too much to lose should it end badly as it did after the first time we kissed."

"So, Agent Booth, when did that change? Am I to assume that you took the gamble? You broke the stalemate?" Sweets looked at him with studious narrow eyes. He couldn't believe that these two were being so forthcoming with all of this information. He wasn't complaining, but he figured if this ever happened he would have to work harder to get it out of them. This told him a few things about them. These two were really serious about each other, and they had every desire to make their relationship work. More importantly, they were willing to do whatever it takes to make it work.

"Yes. I did. Right after we left your office. It did not go well. She turned me down. It took her a while to show her cards after I went all in, but yeah."

"Do you remember the case we had back in my hometown with my class reunion?" Brennan asked.

His eyes widened as he remembered the fact that the duo had gone on that trip alone undercover as husband and wife. "That long ago?" He stammered. _Why didn't I see that? I should have picked up on the changes between them._

"Yes, then," Brennan answered. "There was a dance at the reunion, and we danced and talked before we found out that the stars were the murder weapon. A really good song was playing and I wanted to dance, but then I realized that it may have been insensitive to ask that of him after what happened between us. I asked Booth if it would be too painful to dance with me under the assumed roles of husband and wife after my rejection, and he assured me that it would not be. As the song progressed we felt ourselves getting closer to each other, and we both shared our feelings about how close we felt in that moment."

"When I had gone all in after we talked about your book, I told her that I was that guy who knew that we would be together for thirty, forty, or fifty years. That scared her. I pushed her too fast. I should have known better, but you got it in my head that it just had to happen. So, I did it. I told her, and she turned me down. She said she wasn't capable of my kind of love, and that she couldn't enter into a relationship with me if it meant we couldn't still have our partnership and without knowing if it would last. There was no empirical evidence for her to know that I would still love her in thirty, let alone fifty, years. A couple of weeks later at the reunion dance, I promised her we could take it day-by-day. The here and now. I told her I would only make her promises for today and tomorrow until she was ready for more."

"That's just—wow. I am happy for you two. Really."

"Good, because there is more." Booth added.

Sweets' eyes widened as he could not even imagine what more they had to tell him. They had just told him that the stalemate had ended and that they were together. Sure, he knew that there had to be a really good reason for the pair to be so straight forward about the relationship all of the sudden, especially given the amount of time that has passed since the events unfolded. Of all of the thoughts that crossed his mind, what they had in store for him was definitely not one of them.

Brennan turned to Booth and he gave her hand a slight squeeze. "Dr. Sweets, I'm pregnant."

Sweets could not speak. It was like all of the air had been vacuumed out of his office. His mouth was dry and he was not sure he could even speak without sounding like the pre-pubescent boy he looked like. As stunned as he was to see them reach for each others' hands and then lock them together, it paled in comparison; and if he was being honest with himself, he was not really all that surprised by the relationship. He knew it would happen eventually, but _this_. This was a different story. This was a game changer for the duo.

Sweets cleared his throat as best he could and took a drink of water. "Whoa! That's—wow! Congratulations," he squeaked.

"Booth, he looks like he is in distress. He doesn't seem to be happy."

"No, no. Dr. Brennan. Quite the opposite. I am very happy for you. If I may ask, how far along?"

"Eleven weeks and five days." They answered simultaneously.

"Whoa! Are you serious? That's fantastic. How did this happen?"

"Nope, not going to have that conversation with you, Sweets. You will find out when you're older." Booth snapped.

"Okay, that isn't what I meant, but—" He drew a big breathe, and reorganized his thoughts before steering the conversation into a different direction. "I want to reiterate my happy feelings for you two, but _this _changes everything I just told you. This is big. Not just a big step in your relationship, but it really might be a big deal to the FBI. They do not allow pregnant agents out into the field. It is too dangerous."

"Sweets, she is not an agent. You said that yourself in your explanation of the policy."

"I know what I said, but she does go into the field. They may choose to sever your partnership based just on the fact that Dr. Brennan is pregnant regardless of the father. It is too much of a risk to have her out there knowing about the dangers that you face every day. The FBI will not allow it. I hate to do this to you guys, but I do need to file paperwork on this session about your relationship, and the baby."

"Booth?"

"Let me finish, please. If they sever your partnership, it is likely that Agent Booth will stay on as the liaison for the Jeffersonian because he is the only agent that has a successful history of doing so. Dr. Brennan, I am sure Cam would allow you to consult on cases. You just would not be allowed to go to any unsecured crime scenes or into the interrogation room with Agent Booth."

"That does sound reasonable, Bones. I don't want you or our jelly bean in harm's way." He turned his gaze back to Sweets, "Would we be allowed to continue our partnership afterward?"

"I would think so. I can recommend it, but I cannot guarantee the outcome. They may choose to assign you another partner in the mean time."

"Thanks, Sweets. Fill out your paper work and keep us up to date on this. We are headed straight to Cullen's office right now. I feel that it would be better for him to hear about this straight from our mouths rather than a piece of paper that crosses his desk or worse yet, someone else's loose lips. Come on, let's go Bones. Bye Sweets." They stood and walked to the door.

"Goodbye, Dr. Sweets."

"Bye, and Congratulations again."

Sweets slouched down dejectedly in his seat, and let out a heavy sigh. He felt he should have known by now. He should have seen the difference between the two of them.

**B&B**

"Hello, Colleen. How are you today?"

"I am doing well Agent Booth. How can I help you two?" She looked between the partners noticing the joined hands. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight before her. Rumors and betting pools about the partners' personal lives have been going around the FBI break rooms ever since the two started working together. By the looks of the hands clasped together she surmised that something had finally actually happened between the two.

"I called Cullen about an hour ago. I told him we would be by for a meeting before he went to lunch. He should be expecting us," Booth said trying to ignore the surprised and almost giddy look on the receptionist's face. As far as he could tell, she noticed the joined hands. He could not tell what was going on in her mind other than she looked like she might have just won a bet. He knew about the betting, and honestly was appalled by the lack of moral standard present in the very people who should have the most considering their line of work. He only hoped Brennan didn't notice the change in Colleen's expression when they walked up.

Booth cleared his throat. "Colleen?" His voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Are you going to let him know we are here?"

"Oh, yes. Sure. Have a seat, and I will let you know when he is ready." She picked up the phone and talked with Cullen for a few seconds. "He is in with another agent right now. He said he will be done shortly."

"Thanks."

**B&B**

"Agent Booth. Dr. Brennan. To what do I owe this pleasure? Or is it displeasure?" He looked at Booth. "She didn't shoot anything or beat anyone up did she?" He chuckled.

"I did not shoot anything!" She snapped. "Booth, why does he always ask that?"

"Bones, he was kidding. Relax." He turned to Cullen and started to explain the need for the meeting. "Sir, we are actually here out of our respect for you, the FBI, and our partnership. We feel we owe you a personal notification of our status. The reason we are here to see you instead of Assistant Director Hacker is because quite frankly, sir, I have a lot more respect for you and given Dr. Brennan's personal history with the man we did not feel it would be appropriate."

"Agent Booth, enough kissing ass; cut to the chase."

"Well, Bones and I have been in a relationship for several months now. We just came from Dr. Sweets' office. We notified him of the change, as well. We were trying our best to keep our personal lives from mixing with our professional lives, and in light of some unexpected news we felt it was best to inform our employers of this change. Temperance is pregnant, sir. We have gone over the FBI policies regarding relationships with Sweets, and have determined that we have not violated any rules in forming a relationship because Bones is not FBI. Sweets did tell us, however, that the FBI will not allow any pregnant woman into the field. We just felt like you deserved to know before a rumor or a piece of paper crossed your desk informing you of this change."

Booth was surprised that Cullen let him get the whole explanation out without interruption. He was even more confused by the smile that kept growing on the man's face as he listened. Finally, he spoke.

"Congratulations, on both counts are in order I suppose. Agent Booth, wipe that look off your face. I am not as dumb as I may look. I can read people very well, or I would not have the job that I currently hold. Give me more credit than that. I can look past the fact that I was not notified immediately of your relationship change months ago in light of the fact that you are being honest now. I have grown fond of you two over the years, and I expect to be kept up to date on what is going on. Deal?"

Brennan finally spoke, "Thank you. It means a lot to us to have your blessing. It is a real relief, I must say. I didn't know what to expect. I know a relationship among partners is generally frowned upon."

"Yes, but as Booth already mentioned, it does not apply to personnel contracted from other government sources. Of course the pregnancy does change things slightly in this case. We cannot have you in the field, Dr. Brennan."

Booth chimed in, "We understand that, sir. I would like to remain the liaison for the Jeffersonian if possible."

"Actually, I feel that would be best. No one else has the patience for the squints. No offense, Dr. Brennan, but your people can be quite difficult if someone is not as comfortable around them as Agent Booth is. We need to assign him a new partner. I do think that would be wise. We can discuss this more at a later time Agent Booth. I have a lunch meeting to get to in twenty minutes, and I need a little bit of time to prepare myself. Don't worry about alerting Hacker. I will swing by his office before our meeting and notify him, myself."

"Sure. Thank you, sir."

The couple walked out with arms around each other. No matter what he thought about the first couple of years he knew her, ever since she helped bring his Amy's killer to justice, he held a different level of respect and even admiration for the woman and her partner, whom he already viewed in high regard.

* * *

**Hope I did Sweets justice. Let me know what you think. **

**Also, let me just say that I don't know what the actually policy is, but this is my made up story and I am taking the liberty to make the policy my own as well. Screw actuality.**

**House comes on tonight! One Tree Hill came back last week and comes on tomorrow night! BONES and Grey's Anatomy come back Thursday! Here's to a fantastic week of TV.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	8. Dude! High Five!

**Thank you for all of the great reviews. I don't always respond as I don't have a lot of free time, but they are all greatly appreciated. :D**

**I debated splitting this one in two, but that wouldn't have been very nice.**

* * *

Booth and Brennan walked into the Jeffersonian, passed the tourists, passed the guards, passed the other lab staff, and walked onto the platform hand-in-hand. Cam noticed the two walk by her office. She ran after them to catch them, but she did not get to them before they were amidst other co-workers. Those who saw their grandiose hand holding entrance were immediately drawn closer to the couple as if awaiting the news.

"Dr. Brennan, Booth, could I borrow you for just a moment, please?" Cam pulled them aside.

"Not now, Camille." Booth snapped. The rest of the lab employees looked on in curiosity in the direction of the agent who had just quipped at their boss. "Listen up squint squad! Meet us in Dr. Brennan's office in five minutes. We have something to tell all of you."

"No, Seeley. Come here." She motioned. "Dr. Brennan you too, please." She lowered her voice to keep the others from overhearing their conversation. "I just received a phone call from Cullen that your partnership has been severed, but he didn't elaborate as to why or if you knew. Did you know about this?"

"Severed! They can't break the team up." Angela gasped. She had just walked up behind Cam, and overheard the conversation.

"Yes, severed." Booth confirmed. "That is what we came here to talk to everyone about. We just came from a session with Sweets." It was then that Cam noticed their hands locked together. She looked at Booth then trailed her eyes down to his hand held in hers, and then trailed her eyes up to Dr. Brennan.

"Oh my God. Seeley, you finally told her? I don't know whether to be happy for you or to be angry about you being split up as partners. Is this Sweets' fault? I am going to kill him."

By this time they had gathered a rather large audience. The whole crew plus a few others. So much for meeting in her office. This wasn't how they wanted to apprise everyone of the situation at hand, but figured the more people gathered the better. They really did not want to explain this more than they had to.

"No Cam, leave the baby duck alone," Brennan said.

"Bones and I just came from the Hoover as I said. Sweets told us this was going to happen. He had to file paperwork after the impromptu session we just had. We also went to see Cullen, personally."

Hodgins walked over to the now large group of people, "File paperwork? Care to share with the class, G-man?"

"I am trying to explain, but people keep interrupting, Bug-man," Booth spat. He could feel his frustration rising, and couldn't hold it in any longer. "Alright, listen up." He shouted. Making sure everyone could hear. "Bones and I are a couple. I love her, and she loves me. We are together. Got it? Good. Now that we have disclosed that juicy detail to all of you, there is no room for any more gossip. You should also know that this is not the reason our partnership was severed. Bones is pregnant." He unclasped their hands and threw his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him as there was a collective gasp followed by whispering. "The FBI does not allow pregnant agents into the field; however, I will remain the liaison between the FBI and the Jeffersonian. She will still be able to consult on cases, but won't be allowed at unsecured crime scenes or interrogations for her safety. While we are on the subject of safety, I am going to ask you all to help me keep her safe from harmful substances in this lab. When you all are doing you little squinty things you do, make sure to keep Bones away from your chemicals and experiments."

"Booth. You can stop asserting yourself as the alpha male now. Stop being so overprotective." Brennan said shyly as she started to blush at the whole situation. While he was blunt about the explanations, she was happy that it was out, and everyone knew. It was a joyous moment for her. On top of it all, he was continuing to protect her and their child. And, oh God. Nothing turned her on more.

"Whoa-ho. Okay, so let me get this straight, just so I can make sure I wasn't hearing voices in my head. I love Zack, but I don't want to be his roommate at the institution any time soon. You and Dr. B are a couple, and she is pregnant? As in you two are having a baby, _together_? And _none _of us knew about this?" Hodgins tried to confirm as his eyes widened with a glee that would have indicated one of his conspiracy theories being proved as fact. "Dude! High Five!"

Booth grinned at the man and gave him a high five, but pointed a threatening finger at him as he tried to pull Booth in for a hug following the gesture.

"Yes, Dr. Hodgins, that would be a correct assessment of the situation at hand." Brennan nodded as she placed a hand on his arm after he coiled back from Booth's unspoken threat.

Cam picked her jaw up off the floor, and gathered her thoughts. She turned to the crowd of lab employees saying, "Class dismissed. Get back to work, people," before turning back to the couple asking, "Seeley, are you okay with the severance?"

"How can I not be? This arrangement is designed to keep her and our child safe. Sweets is going to recommend that we continue our partnership after this is over. I don't think this is going to be a problem for us, Camille."

"Don't call me Camille."

"Don't call me Seeley."

Angela joined in the conversation once more, "How did your appointment go this morning, Bren?"

"Wait, you had an appointment this morning? And Angela knew?" Cam asked.

"Yes, Angela knew, and as you have probably already guessed, I'm not actually sick. I was just severely nauseated. The appointment was to confirm and find out how far along we are into the gestation." Brennan said pulling out the pictures. "We are eleven weeks and five days in."

"Oh my God, Bren! That is almost three months."

"Yes, Angela. I know. I am much further along than I originally thought I was because of spotting. The doctor pointed out that my abdomen has already started to round out a little."

"Spotting? Bren? Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything is fine, Ange."

"Uh, o-kay." Cam drawled out. "Dr. Brennan? Dare I ask, how long you and Booth have been together?"

"An argument could be made that we have been together for over five years. Although, we have only started to explore a romantic relationship seven months ago. I will be happy to give more details later, but I need to get some work done. I missed a lot the past couple of days, and Booth needs to get back to the Hoover. He has not even been in to work yet today."

"Well, in that case, I won't keep you any longer. Congratulations, to both of you."

Booth stepped up from answering questions from others, and pulled Cam to the side.

"Cam, I need you to make sure she doesn't get exposed to anything harmful. I know what kinds of chemicals are present here in this lab. I have also made her promise to keep her hours from 9:00 to 4:30. I want you to send her home if she is here outside of those hours; get the security guards involved during the hours you aren't here, if necessary. Also, no weekend hours. She is going to need her rest, and since she won't be out in the field a lot she will not have much trouble getting her work done with these hours. Enforce them. Please."

"Sure, Seeley. I understand. I really do. Did she really agree to those terms? I am not sure I will be able to make sure she stays completely out of harm's way. You know her. She doesn't take orders from me very well. I am still not sure she takes my position over her as seriously as I would like. We all know who calls the shots around here, and it isn't me."

"I guess you're right. She really doesn't take orders from other people very well, but she did agree to this."

She reached up and placed her hand on his shoulder, "Are you happy?"

"She is my world, Cam. I cannot imagine what kind of gutter I would be in if I didn't meet her. She changed my life. Now she is giving me one of the best gifts I could ever hope for, not just her love, but another child. _Her _child." He beamed one of his thousand-watt smiles, and his eyes gave off the unique twinkle of an expectant parent.

"She is very important to all of us. I just wish you would have told us about you two sooner. Come here give me a hug, big guy." She pulled him into a big hug. "You both deserve to be happy." They pulled out of the hug as she asked, "How is Dr. Brennan holding up? She is good with this, right?"

"What kind of question is that?" he hissed. He gathered his thoughts for a second as he considered that her question was not meant maliciously. "She is nervous about some things, but she is very happy. It has been hard on her though. She has been apparently feeling the nausea for quite some time, but only recently couldn't control it. Cam, she continues to surprise me every day with her strength and determination to make this work for us by opening up a little more of herself to me. These past several months and especially the last couple days have been absolutely incredible for us both."

**B&B**

Brennan entered her office with Angela in tow.

"Bren, how are you doing? I know this is a lot for you."

"I am more than okay, Ange. I have never been happier. I am overwhelmed with emotions that I cannot entirely identify because I have never had them before, but they are good. I do have some concerns, but Booth has assured me that we will get through this together. I think our session with Dr. Sweets and meeting with Cullen earlier was very helpful in helping me ease some of the concerns that I told you I had concerning FBI policy."

"I can see the difference in posture, and hear it in your voice. You really have relaxed a lot since yesterday's lunchtime meltdown."

"How do you and Booth do that?" Brennan's eyes narrowed.

"How do we do what, Bones?" Brennan looked up to the door as Booth entered.

"Well, you both are very good at reading people. Angela just made an observation about me. She said that I appear and sound more relaxed than I did yesterday," she shrugged.

"Um, Bren. Hello! He's FBI, and I am an artist. Feelings. Emotions. Expressions. It's what we do."

"Yeah, Angela is right. I read people. You read bones. It's what we do, and right now I can tell that this conversation is making you uneasy."

"Spill it, Bren." Angela added. "I am not leaving until you do."

Brennan knew she was caught in her thoughts, but it didn't mean she wanted to share them at that moment. She also knew that her friend was serious and that she was not going to just drop the subject. So, she just decided to confide in the two people she trusted most in the world.

"I am afraid that my inability to read emotions will affect my ability to accurately provide our child with what it needs. You know how horrible my interpersonal skills are. What if that makes me a bad mother?"

"Bren, I am going to let Booth handle that one. I am only going to say that you are going to be a great mother. I am going to be in my office if you need me," the artist said. She didn't want to leave her friend when she was actually sharing her open heart, but she knew that Booth was the one she needed to have this conversation with. She respected that.

"Booth, what if I am horrible at this. I don't know the first thing—" Booth reached up his finger to her lips to stop her from saying what she intended to say.

"Bones, come sit with me on the couch. Look, every new parent has these thoughts. Every single one. I did with Parker. Do you know what that means?" She shook her head. "You are a normal human being, Bones. _Nobody _goes into parenthood knowing what to expect or knowing that they will be good at it. The only thing you can do is try your best and learn from your own experience from the previous day." He pulled her onto his lap almost just as he had when he first found out she was pregnant. "These feelings and thoughts you are having, the fears of failure. They are completely normal."

"But it does not make sense to have all of these irrational feelings. Especially when many of them contradict what I know to be true. You, Seeley Booth, are an amazing father to Parker, and I know you will be to this baby. With you by my side, I am positive that I will be a good mother, but the fear is still very prominent."

"You, Temperance Brennan, are going to be the best mother our little jelly bean could ask for. I know this because you already are to Parker. We have not even told him or Rebecca about the two of us being together yet, and you were already treating him as if he were your own child long before we ever started the romantic branch of our journey through life together. You may not have realized it, but I did. I saw how you interacted with my son, and from what I saw of your maternal instinct, there has to be children that would be envious of the relationship you have with Parker because their relationship with their own real mother isn't that great."

"You always know the exact right things to say to me." She leaned her head down to place a sweet and tender kiss to his lips before tailing graceful open mouthed kisses down his jaw line to a spot on his neck she know would drive him wild for more.

He leaned his head to one side to give her better access to his sweet spot. He brought his hand up from her thigh and placed it on her abdomen. After realizing where they still sat he spoke up in a deep husky voice, "Bones, we are in your office. You have glass walls." He groaned. "No blinds. We cannot do this here."

Hearing his warning she ignored it, and trailed her kisses up to his mouth. "Don't—" another kiss, "care." Then she resumed her deepening kisses.

After several minutes she had almost involuntarily turned in Booth's lap to where she straddled him. She had loosened his tie, and had his shirt mostly unbuttoned before Booth realized that this absolutely could not go any further. "Ugh, baby. Stop—we have to stop."

"No." Brennan pulled him back into her using the tie that was still haphazardly around his neck for a few more minutes of passionate kissing. She reached her arms into his open dress shirt only to find his undershirt in her way. She let out a grunt of frustration at her denied access to his bare skin. She pulled her lips from his and placed her forehead on his. "Okay, sorry. I got carried away."

Booth struggled to catch his breath, "Yeah, no kidding."

Brennan still sat straddling him, both still with labored breathing, and with his shirt wide open and his tie undone as Cam walked into Brennan's office with her face in a case file. "Dr. Brennan, I have some things that I need you to sign off on. There is a report in here on—whoa. Sorry. I—uh, I can come back."

"Bones, don't move." Booth commanded as he grabbed her hips because he felt her try to shift off of him. He knew that if she moved from the spot on his lap the tent in his pants would provide further embarrassment for both of them.

"What why?" she asked ignoring the third party in the room. Booth used his hands placed on her hips to move her grind her into to him a little and then to a slightly more comfortable position in his lap, and in doing so she felt why it would be a very bad idea for her to get up. He whispered in her ear, "That's not my gun."

"Oh," she whispered back as realization dawned on her. "Cam, can we have a minute?"

"Yes, you can have a minute to compose yourselves. Then, we need to all sit down and have a little chat." She turned to walk out of the door, but turned back to the couple still seated on the couch, "I can close the door, but you do realize that you have see-thru walls, right?"

Brennan put her hand over her face in disbelief of her own behavior at work, "Yes, Cam. I know, but for some reason the rational part of my brain was not in control."

All Cam could do was nod and smile as she closed the door.

"Oh, Booth. I am so sorry. I didn't mean for it to go that far. All I wanted was to kiss you, and then it was so much more," Brennan said as she carefully removed herself from Booth's lap.

As she lifted off of him, he let out a hiss indicating how close he had come to losing his own control despite the glass walls of the office. "Don't be sorry. I should have tried harder to stop us from going any further. Bones, would you mind if I sit behind your desk before Cam comes back in? I still have a long way to go before I can walk out of here without embarrassment." He stood and Brennan helped him button up his shirt and re-tie his tie before taking a seat behind her desk. "I could _really _use a cold shower right about now."

The door opened a crack as Cam poked her head in the door with her eyes closed, "Knock, knock. Please tell me it's all clear."

"Yeah, come in Camille." Booth's voice still held a little bit of strain.

"Good. Um, Dr. Brennan, I never thought I would be lecturing you on this Angela, yes, but not you; we need to talk about this. The behavior I just walked in on is completely unacceptable and inappropriate for the workplace. We have an obligation to uphold a certain level of moral and ethical standards here at the Jeffersonian."

"Dr. Saroyan. I know. I can't believe I did it either. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. Booth and I have been able to keep everything in check while we were working in order to conceal our relationship, and I don't understand what just happened. I'm sorry. Do you think anyone else saw us?"

"I don't think so, but if they did, then they will be too afraid to say anything about it. They are probably afraid that you might have an episode like the one you displayed previously this week or that Agent Booth might shoot them." Even in her seriousness she was able to reach in and find a little humor to ease Dr. Brennan's stress.

"I'm sorry about that, too. I just cannot seem to keep complete control right now. I don't know what is wrong with me."

"I do. It is the pregnancy hormones. Being almost twelve weeks in, your body is raging with them right now. Your mood, temper, and libido are all under the control of your hormones right now, not your rational brain. I can look away this time, Lord knows I have done it enough for Angela, but I expect you to make an effort to not let this happen again."

"Yes, of course. I am so sorry."

"Booth, I expect that in the future, when Dr. Brennan gets that uncontrollable look in her eye that you will do more to stop it from happening here."

"I didn't even have time to look her in the eye; she just jumped me," he managed to choke out, still in agony from the restrictive pressure of his pants.

"Booth," Brennan purred.

Clearly picking up on the sexual tension in the room Cam was certain there was only one thing she could do right now. "Uh, Dr. Brennan, why don't you take the rest of the week off. Come back on Monday, and be ready to work with no distractions. It is Thursday, and the day is practically over. You won't miss much, especially since Booth has cut down your hours and you aren't needed to be consulted on any cases right now."

"I have already missed too much this week. I can't—"

"I insist. You clearly are not in any state of mind right now to get any work done. You have the best ability to compartmentalize of anyone else I know, but I know that what you are feeling right now you cannot just push aside and ignore."

"Bones, I will call Cullen, and get time off until Monday as well. You won't just be home sitting alone with nothing to do. I promise. Between telling other people the good news and spending time with me, you will forget all about needing to work. Thank you, Camille. I owe you for this. Dinner and drinks at the Founding Fathers on us sometime, okay?" Booth stood from Brennan's chair quickly grabbing her coat that was draped around the back of the chair, and bringing it in front of his body. "Bones, get what you need out of here, let's go to an early dinner, and spend a nice evening at home. This is also my weekend with Parker, so we have to gear up to tell him or at least come up with a plan to try to tell him."

"Okay." She took off her lab coat, hung it up on the rack, and grabbed her purse. "Will you at least allow me to work a little on my book? I feel like all of my normal activities are being taken away from me."

"Bones, that is not true. Of course you can work on your book. I just want to make sure you are safe, cared for, and get everything you need to make our jelly bean grow into a nice healthy baby. That's all. Okay?" He lifted her chin with a light touch of his fingers to get her to look him in the eyes. "Okay?"

In response she crashed her lips onto his for a fiery steamy lip-lock that would make anyone standing in the vicinity sweat.

Still standing there, Cam felt like she needed to quickly douse the fire before it spread into more than it did earlier on the couch. "Don't make me get a bucket of ice water. Booth, take her home. Now. Before this office turns into a display of human sexuality. I am sure that is one exhibit the museum does not want to feature." Cam walked out of the office hoping she didn't come back later only to find out that the flame had been re-ignited.

Booth pulled away and cleared his throat to remove some of the deep rumble of lust that would surely be dripping from his voice. "She's right, Bones. Let's go. You have no control right now. We cannot stay here a second longer. In fact, I fear for our ride home." They walked out of her office and started their walk to his SUV. "You are going to sit in the backseat. We cannot get into any wrecks because you couldn't keep your hands off of me. That wouldn't look good in the report to the FBI as to why I crashed a Bureau vehicle."

"What? No. I am not going to sit in the backseat." Brennan huffed as she was grabbing her coat from Booth to put on as they exited the building.

"Oh, yes you are. Or better yet, why don't you keep that big beautiful horny brain of yours occupied by driving? Yeah. You drive, and I will sit in the backseat."

He knew her too well. He knew she would take the deal to drive. She always wanted to drive. "Deal. Keys?" He unlocked the vehicle with the remote and tossed her the keys.

They started the drive to her apartment in silence, him in the backseat, and her at the wheel.

"Bones, what are the plans for tonight? What do you want to do?"

"Well, after I take you home, and have my way with you, we can either go have dinner somewhere or order take-out."

"Have your way with me? Temperance Brennan, of all the blunt statements I have heard you say, this is by far one of the top hottest things you have ever said to me."

"Well, Booth, I mean it. These urges and desires I have right now feel outright carnal and animalistic. Hearing you explain to everyone our situation in a fierce protective display of your alpha male instincts just made my hormones skyrocket. I cannot help it if you aroused me in such a way today."

"Oh, God. It is a good thing we are here or I would have had you pull over on the side of the road no matter where we were, and then we would have gotten arrested on public indecency charges."

* * *

**Okay, so it wasn't exactly the sit down meeting they thought it would be. I could have written it to where the invited them all to some big dinner party like many writers on here do, but that just doesn't really seem like "them." Also, this news is bound to spread like wildfire from the Hoover over to the Jeffersonian, considering they may have money on the line, so I think it would have been absolutely necessary for them to tackle all of this in one day. **

**Okay, so next chapter is going to be a little bit shorter, but a whole lotta M. So, fair warning. It can be skipped for those of you who may not enjoy reading about a naked Booth, which is just blasphemous in my book, but whatever floats your boat. There will be nothing in the next chapter that would be missed if you decide to skip it.**

**Reviewsies?**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	9. Alpha Displays of Carnal Affection

**Smutty chapter. ****Definitely M****. Can be skipped if it makes you uncomfortable. Not a key factor in the story, other than to serve as a more adult version of fluffy.**

* * *

Brennan smirked at her own personal FBI agent with a raised eyebrow practically undressing him in her mind as they made their way off of the elevator and into her apartment.

Brennan ran into the bedroom telling him to wait until she called him in. He stood in the living room confused until he remembered her mentioning that she bought something while shopping with Angela. _Oh, this was going to be good._

"Seeley Joseph Booth, get your symmetrical aesthetically pleasing, perfect specimen of the human body in here. Now." She demanded.

He sauntered into the doorway of the room and leaned against the woodwork of the door frame. "You couldn't just tell me to get my hot ass in here?" he smirked.

What a sight. There she was walking slowly toward him as he stood frozen in time at her bedroom door. Her long legs, her creamy skin contrasting the black teddy through the lace. That sinfully red trim. Those deliciously suckable toes that matched both the teddy and his favorite pair of socks. Just the sight of her was enough to nearly send him into oblivion. He felt like a nervous teenage boy who may lose control at any moment due to the sight, any sound she may make, or any thought whatsoever.

The sight for her was nothing to snub either. God, Angela was right in just about every description she has ever given Booth. Agent Studly. Knight in shining FBI standard issue body armor. Not to mention her most recent moniker, Special Agent _Sexy _Booth. Oh, yes. Definitely. And he always smelled so good. So arousing. So manly. So…him. She had gotten a nice lungful of his aftershave when they were seated on her couch in her office. Those searing deep brown eyes were almost black with desire as they looked at her almost savagely.

"Bones, are you trying to kill me?" he asked. "Just when I thought there couldn't be anything sexier than the mother of my child, you go and put that thing on and take it into a whole new level. You are going to have to take it off right now. It looks so nice on you, I don't want to ruin it by ripping it off of you."

God, there it went flying through the air and catching on one of the blades of the motionless ceiling fan after she took it off so teasingly. She stood before him completely naked. Now the only thing that stood in their way other than the air between them, which was closing by the second, was his clothing. Damn it. He still couldn't move. He wasn't making any kind of motion to extricate himself of his standard FBI suit, which looked absolutely anything but standard on him with his rebellious ties, socks, and self descriptive belt buckle.

Her hands made it to his lapels and pulled his lips crashing to hers in a kiss reminiscent of the mistletoe kiss several years back, and it was definitely not like kissing her brother. Her hands slid up to his tie, loosened it, and slid it from around his neck. God, was there anything about his woman that didn't drive him absolutely crazy. Even the way she removed his tie caught him off guard as if she had never done it before. She had a thing for his ties. She put them on him to start his day. This was always followed by some hot and heavy good morning kisses, which inevitably meant she would have to readjust his suit and tie before he left for work. Then, at the end of the day she took them off again, which was almost always followed closely by the rest of his clothes.

Then she worked his buttons frantically and shakily. He noticed her struggling with them, and moved her hands down to his belt buckle so that he could finish the buttons. He found himself flustered enough that he wasn't having much luck either. In a groan of frustration he just pulled the shirt open, popping the buttons off, and sending them flying across the room. He let the pressed white dress shirt fall to the floor. They broke apart long enough for Booth to pull his undershirt over his head.

"Damn it, Bones. You make me so crazy."

Brennan craned her neck to urge him to move his kisses from her mouth to her neck so that she could breathe. "Oh, really. Is that why _I _was the one who nearly jumped you in my office? My office with glass walls. _You _are the one who drives me crazy." Both of his hands slide down her body to her hips to grind her into him to show her just how aroused he was, as he marked her neck. "Oh, God. Booth."

"Are you suddenly religious, Temperance? Or are you calling me a god?" He growled in her ear.

"Just when I thought you couldn't get any more cocky." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh, God. Bones." He let out the similar mantra as she ran her mouth and tongue over an erogenous spot just below his ear. "Speaking of cocky, you haven't made much progress on that belt buckle."

Brennan grunted in frustration. "Yeah, I know; it almost feels as if I have never undressed you before," she said breathlessly. "You are having an extremely satisfactory effect on my olfactory senses. Damn you and your alpha male pheromones. You make me feel like an animal, Booth. It is making my hands tremble, and I don't seem to have much control over the fine motor function in my distal phalanges at the moment."

"Ya know, _alpha female_, you have some pretty damn strong pheromones, yourself. Here, let me help you with that."

Booth's hands traveled from their places in her hair and cupping her rear to his belt buckle to quickly undo it and slide it off. He immediately decided to just go ahead and take care of his pants and boxers to. He honestly would not have been able to take much more before he needed to be in her. He wanted to make sure he was ready for that moment. The articles of clothing pooled at his feet, he stepped out of them before slowly turning them, and walking each other to the bed.

Booth lifted Brennan up onto the bed gently, and straddled her carefully so he didn't crush her. She arched her body up into him making soft desperate noises as their skin made contact that only proved to make Booth need to be in her that much more.

Booth leaned down to towards Brennan's face to kiss her. He had every intention to slow her down and take his sweet time pleasuring her, but she had other plans. When he leaned down to kiss her, she grabbed him and pulled him down hard onto her, crashing her lips onto his. Her tongue was voraciously rubbing against his, and his initial control was lost as he matched her tongue stroke for stroke with his. They were playfully nipping at each others' lips. He let out a small moan of surprise as Brennan bit just a little harder than she had been. She then moved her mouth to start trailing hot wet kisses down his jaw line to his neck where she started gently sucking and licking the different erogenous zones she knew he favored She decided to mark him back because she felt him do it earlier, and she would be damned if he was going to mark her as _his _without getting marked as _hers _in retaliation.

He could feel her smile against his neck as she ran her fingernails down his back. He hissed at the sensation. When she finally reached his lower back her hands kept going down until she had both of his smooth hard muscular cheeks firmly in the palms of her hands, and she pulled his hips harder down onto her to feel the grinding of his erection against her bare skin.

Booth positioned himself at her entrance. He eased himself into her hot wet core, and they both let out a groan of pleasure. As he began moving his hips in a strongly determined and slightly aggressive rhythm, she matched his movements as she writhed beneath him. Booth knew it wasn't going to take long for him to blow his load. Generally speaking, he had great self control over how long he could go, but he had been on the edge since they both left her office completely unsatisfied.

He preferred to make love not just have quickies here and there. He liked to have meaningful sex. While this romp they were having was aggressive and downright feral, there was no lack of love present.

She could feel the coil build low in her abdomen as his thrusts because harder, more frequent and more labored as he was just about there as well.

"So…close." She managed to softly moan in his ear.

"Me too, just let it go, baby. Come for me."

She didn't have to be told twice; she knew he was right with her. She felt him grow harder and lengthen inside of her core a rather violent body shattering orgasm hit her. Her hot fluid crashed in around him as he shot his semen deep into her walls and their fluids mingled.

They rode out their waves of pleasure into oblivion together as they moaned and gasped each others' names. Booth kept small thrusts going to help ease her down from the high.

When he no longer had the strength to hold himself up, Booth rolled off to Brennan's side to prevent falling on her. He pulled her close to him, and they snuggled closely just kissing languidly and nibbling on each other just as they would have if they had made love sweetly and slowly. They exchanged sentiments and pulled the sheet over them just before they fell asleep in each others' arms.

* * *

**Review, please. **

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	10. The Next Logical Step

About an hour later Brennan woke up still in Booth's warm embrace. Her head was rested on his bare chest where she could feel as well as hear his heartbeat and his breathing. She leaned her head back to see if he was still sleeping. To her surprise his eyes were open as apparently he had been watching her sleep on top of him.

The first thing she did was move her head slightly to bring her lips to the small puckered scar on his chest to give it a kiss, just like she always did when they woke up together.

"Hey, beautiful. How was your nap?" He kissed the top of her head.

"Very good. I always enjoy a post-coital slumber. It is very restful."

"Um. Yeah, my _nap_ wasn't so bad either, but I had an amazingly warm blanket." He winked at her with his amazing chocolate brown eyes.

They shared another kiss, this time on the lips. The kiss was building in pace and intensity when she pulled away before it could get any deeper.

"Booth, I'm hungry."

"Yeah, we kind of skipped our early dinner," he chuckled. "After spending all of that energy I am starving."

"Booth, you are not starving. I have been to third world countries, and have witnessed actual starving people. You have been known to consume a meal consisting of more food than some of those people receive in two weeks. To claim you are starving is a highly hyperbolic description of your state of hunger, and largely diminishes what other people have to try to do to survive."

"Fine. I know I am not starving. It was an expression. Okay, Bones?"

"Oh. Too literal?"

He nodded and smiled at her. "Let's go to the diner. I am in some serious need a big messy cheeseburger and fries, oh, and definitely some pie."

"I'm game, but you should know that you just proved my point about your meals."

"How do you even know that phrase?"

She shrugged, "I supposed I picked it up from you somewhere along the lines. Now, let go of me. I have to urinate." When he didn't immediately comply with her request she poked him in the ribs and said it more urgently, "_Now_."

**B&B**

"Bones! You ate all my fries."

"Sorry. I was hungry." She shrugged at him and smiled.

"I know, but you had your own fries. Did you have to eat all of mine, too?"

"Well, if it means anything to you, your little jelly bean is satisfied," she told him smiling even bigger because she knew that would break his argument.

"Okay, you got me on that one. Gotta keep the baby fed. I am glad you are feeling well enough to eat. You have had a rough couple of days with the nausea. I was beginning to wonder if you were eating as much as you need to."

"Well, I am fine now, and rough is the understatement of the century. Telling everyone at the lab didn't exactly go how I thought it would. It was much more chaotic than I anticipated."

"Temperance, when have our lives been anything other than chaotic? It would have been weird for it to have gone according to plan. That just isn't us."

"You're right. Hey. I am going to make a quick trip to the restroom."

Brennan got up and walked to the restroom. While she was gone, Booth pulled out his phone and dialed Rebecca's number.

"Hi, Rebecca…Yeah, it's Seeley. I need to ask you to do something for me. Can you come over for lunch tomorrow?…Well, this is sort of about Parker, and we need to discuss it before I pick him up after school tomorrow. I need your advice on something…No, I cannot just tell you now…Because this is more of a face-to-face kind of conversation….I know you are a busy person…Just, please…Great…Actually, could you meet me at Dr. Brennan's apartment instead?…Do you remember where it is at?…Okay then, see you at Casa-de-Bones…Bye."

Brennan had walked back over to the table just in time to catch the request for Rebecca to meet Booth at her apartment. "Booth? Was that Rebecca?"

"Yeah. I think it would be a good idea to have lunch with her tomorrow to discuss how we should tell Parker."

"I agree. This affects Rebecca, too. She needs to know so that she isn't blindsided by the news if we were just to tell Parker with her knowing."

Booth stood from his seat, laid down some cash for the bill, and hugged Brennan as he kissed the top of her head. "You are wonderful. Do you know that?"

**B&B**

The two walked into Brennan's apartment, and quickly set off toward the bedroom to ready themselves for bed.

"Bones, have you called Russ yet?"

"No, I was going to do it tomorrow morning. Today has been a long day, and it is late. I don't want a late call to wake up his girls."

"Bones, tomorrow is going to be long, too. We are going to have the meeting with Rebecca to figure out a strategy for explaining things to Parker, then we have to go get him from school, then he is going to want to go to the park and the diner."

Brennan's brow furrowed, and it was clear to Booth that she had something on her mind. "What's going on in that cute head of yours?"

"I don't know. I was just thinking. Are you going to be taking Parker back to your place? Because I know we haven't really talked about this since we have been together. It has always just been an understanding that when you have Parker that you go back to your place, but I think it is time now. I know you already pretty much have, but will you move in with me? You already occupy half of my closet with your suits, half of my drawers, your hockey gear is everywhere, you always leave the seat up, you cook, do the dishes, and my fridge is filled with your red meat and beer—"

"You want me to move in? As in officially move in and get rid of my apartment kind of move in? Are you sure? This is a big step, Bones, and I don't want you to feel pushed."

"Well, it makes sense for you to live with me and our child, and I have an extra room for Parker. With this baby coming, we will likely need to get a bigger place, but I think it is practical for you to go ahead and live with me here now."

"Of course I want to live with you and our child, but I don't want to push you into something you are not ready for."

"You are not pushing me into anything. If I didn't want it, then I wouldn't have brought it up. We have been together for several months now, and you already do spend every night here except the ones you have Parker with you. I think it is the next logical step."

"I think it is a great idea. So, we can get most of Parker's stuff tomorrow before we pick him up from school, and then we will worry about the rest of my stuff later."

"That sounds like an acceptable plan. I am going to bed. I am exhausted. If tomorrow turns out to be anything like today I am going to need every ounce of energy I can get."

"Good night, Bones. I will be in there in a minute. I just need to brush my teeth."

**B&B**

The next morning was fairly uneventful for the couple as they had slept in until almost eleven because Brennan had been ordered to take the day off, and Booth had no current case after arresting the step-mother of Daniel Garcia, son of the surgeon, for abuse and neglect of a minor child as well as on murder charges.

Brennan had called Russ inform him of the developments of her relationship with Booth and about the pregnancy. He told her that he would try to get away from work one weekend and bring his family up for a visit sometime soon.

Booth and Brennan were fixing lunch for them and Rebecca, when she rang the doorbell. They walked to the door together and Booth opened the door and invited her in.

Immediately Rebecca noticed the hickey on Booth's neck, and her eyebrows shot up upon seeing it. Booth noticed her expression and looked over to Brennan who had a confused look on her face. He thought that maybe she had seen Rebecca's face change, but couldn't tell why her expression changed. Then, his eyes zeroed in on the hickey he left on her neck the previous night. His eyes widened as realization hit him, and he brought his hand up to cover the mark on his neck he knew she had left there in retribution.

Rebecca chuckled when his face turned an embarrassing shade of red. Booth leaned over to Brennan and spoke softly to her, "Bones, you might want to cover that up before we get Parker this afternoon." He said pointing to the spot on her neck. He turned to their guest, "but for now, looks like cat's out of the bag, huh?"

"Booth, what does this have to do with felines being held captive?"

"It's an expression, Bones."

"What took you two so long?" Rebecca laughed. "Is this what you wanted to tell me?"

Booth nodded, and ushered the two women into the dining room. "Yes, it is. We know that this affects Parker, too. We figured a heads up might be appropriate. We didn't want you to be blindsided by this."

She took the plate offered to her, and they passed around the dishes of food. "Dr. Brennan, this looks and smells fantastic. Thank you for inviting me." She turned to Booth, "You know, Parker really looks up to Dr. Brennan. He talks about her constantly when he is doing his homework and every time he comes home from visiting you. I don't think he will have a problem with this change."

"I didn't think so either, Rebecca, but what about you?"

"Seeley, she is a good woman with good values who treats my son like her own when she is around him. What more could I ask for? Can I ask, how long?"

"How long what?" Brennan asked.

"Uh, Bones, I think she is asking us how long we have been more than just partners."

"Oh. Booth and I have been involved romantically for about seven months."

Rebecca almost choked on her food at the revelation. "Seven months? Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack," Booth replied. "Look, we just wanted to keep it to ourselves for awhile, in case it the FBI decided to split us up or if it didn't work out. We kept it a secret longer than we intended to. We actually just told everyone yesterday."

"While we didn't intend on keeping it a secret so long," Brennan continued, "we didn't exactly plan on telling anyone the news, but—"

"Dr. Brennan, are you pregnant?" Rebecca asked.

Both Booth and Brennan shared stunned looks with each other. How had she guessed?

Sensing two were not prepared to answer her question, she explained her reasoning behind her question, "When I entered the apartment, aside from noticing the _his and hers_ hickies on your necks, I noticed some interesting reading material on the side table as well as on the coffee table we walked by in the living room to get in here. Your silence just confirmed my suspicion."

"Yes. I am pregnant. It was completely unplanned, and we decided to tell everyone about us and the baby after we had our appointment yesterday. I am eleven weeks and six days into this pregnancy, and it will not be long before I start to noticeably show."

"Congratulations. I am happy for you and Seeley. You are going to be really great parents. I already know Seeley is, and I know I don't tell him enough."

"Thanks, Rebecca. I—that really means a lot to me," Booth replied. Rebecca and Booth may not have always been civil to each other, but neither could deny the other parent's genuine love and ability to care and provide for their child.

"Me, too," Brennan added with a smile.

They sat and ate in silence for a few minutes before Booth brought up the next thing on the couple's mind.

"Rebecca, you apparently have a really keen eye, so I am sure that you may have also noticed my hockey gear in the living room as well as a few pairs of my shoes in the foyer." She nodded. "I have been spending most of my time here with Bones, except for the days I have Parker, and we would like that to change. I am moving in with Bones, and will be opting out of my lease. We would like to make this change this weekend because we plan on telling Parker at least about the relationship. We think that it might be a good idea to hold off on the sibling thing and let him get used to the idea of us being together, first."

"It sounds like you two have put a lot of thought into this. Like I said, I trust Dr. Brennan—"

"Please, call me Temperance."

"Okay, Temperance. I trust you, and I have no problem with any of this. In fact, I really hope this goes better for you two than it did with Seeley and me," she smiled genuinely. "Parker will be thrilled, and while I understand why you would want to wait to tell him the whole truth, I think it would be fine to just tell him everything. Either way, he is going to have questions that will need to be answered eventually."

Booth gave this some thought and decided she was right. "I suppose it wouldn't actually hurt to let him in on everything, and then we wouldn't have to make sure no one else lets it slip in front of him."

"I will concede that I think that it may be for the best, as well."

"It will be fine, Seeley; our boy is brilliant and he is more than capable of understanding the importance of your relationship with Temperance and why you didn't tell him sooner. I also believe that at his age any questions he may ask need to be answered with the truth." She glanced at her watch. "Okay, I need to get going. Gotta get back to work. Thanks, again, for inviting me, and congratulations to the both of you."

**B&B**

"Are we taking his bed?" Brennan asked, as she packed away the last of Parker's toys.

"Nah, not today. You have a perfectly good bed in the room already, and since it is bigger than this bed he has here, I may let him decide which bed he wants before we just decide to move it. That will save us from having to find a place to store the full size bed that is already there. I think that we just need to get his clothes and toys for now, and worry about the big stuff like the bed and dresser when I get the truck to move some of my stuff to your place and the rest to storage. Besides, we can't move those with just the two of us."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. We wouldn't want to injure your back."

"Actually, I was not thinking about my back. Bones, you are pregnant, in case you forgot."

"Do you honestly think that it would be possible for me to forget when you are constantly bending down to my abdomen and talking to it? Or how about the fact that you practically walk around with your hand attached to my stomach? Oh, and don't forget that cocky _I impregnated my girlfriend _grin that is permanently dry walled to your face as a constant reminder," she snapped.

He gave a loud sigh at her misuse and complete ignorance of his point. "Plastered, Bones. Plastered to my face. Anyways, you should be taking it easy, not moving heavy furniture." He held up a hand to stave off her protests. "I'm serious. The last thing I want is for something to go wrong because of stress or…just, I don't know. Temperance, I would never forgive myself if—"

She visibly relaxed, and he left out a sigh of relief as she saved him from having to vocalize his fears. "Seeley, I understand." She took his hand in hers and walked over into his arms and leaned in against his chest. "I do. I am sure that Hodgins and Wendell would be more than willing to help us out."

"Yeah, they probably would. Alright, why don't you go into my room and start packing up some of my personal stuff, and I will take these boxes out to the SUV."

"Sure. I will start with your clothes, and other essential stuff."

"Okay, I will be right back up."

**B&B**

The bell had just rung and Booth and Brennan were sitting outside of the school in the parking lot. They had decided that since it was a nice day out, they would pick Parker up in Brennan's Mercedes and let the top down. They figured he would get a kick out of that. Booth stood just outside of car so that he could easily find his father since he was not driving his SUV, and he would not know to look for Brennan's car. He was waiting for his son to emerge from the mass of kids that exploded out of the door. It took several minutes for Parker to exit the building; when he did Booth waved him over.

"Parker, over here!"

"Dad! Awesome car, Dr. Bones!"

"Thanks, Parker. Are you ready to go?"

"In this car? Hell yeah!"

This earned the ten year old a glare from his father, "PARKER BOOTH! Language, mister. We're going to talk about that later. Get in the car."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry."

Parker climbed in the backseat, and held his head low for the first few minutes of the ride back to Brennan's apartment. The couple decided that it would be best to just take him home, and sit down to talk to him like adults rather than take him somewhere special to butter him up for the idea. Brennan figured that if they wanted him to have a mature response to the news that they needed to just tell him everything and "not beat around the shrub" as she put it. They had decided to be as open and honest as possible within reason given his age. Booth just knew that there would be _at least _one question that would come out of this that he didn't exactly know how to answer given the fact that he didn't yet have armpit hair.

By the time they reached the apartment Parker's spirit had lifted significantly. He had just rode in the coolest car he had ever seen. He couldn't stop talking about it. Then, he finally realized that they weren't at his father's apartment when they pulled into the parking garage.

"Dad, why are we at Dr. Bones' apartment instead of home?"

"Well, Parks, my truck is here, and we need to talk to you."

"No, you really don't have to. I won't say that word anymore. I'll never swear again, dad. I swear," he whined as he got out of the car.

"Parker, this is not about your potty mouth. This is something much more important. Let's just go up to Bones' apartment after I help her put the top back up, and we can get some popcorn and have a nice talk. Then, we can watch a movie before dinner."

"Okay." The little boy's tension left his body as he realized that he was not in trouble at the moment.

* * *

**Review, please.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	11. When Two People Love Each Other

**Alright, here it is. They tell Parker. I hope it lives up to your expectations. Enjoy.**

* * *

The two adults had safely tucked away all of the books that Rebecca had noticed earlier. They had also put all of the boxes that they moved into the bedrooms along with Booth's hockey gear and anything else that would have given up the fact that he had been practically living with Brennan. They had also been sure to cover the marks on their necks with makeup, much to Booth's annoyance.

Booth came out of the kitchen wielding two big bowls of popcorn. As Parker looked up and noticed his father enter the room, his eyes floated over to the dining room table where Brennan's daffodils still sat. While they were just starting to wilt, they were still presentable enough to keep out for another day or so.

"Dr. Bones, who sent you flowers? They are pretty."

"Thank you, Parker." She looked at her boyfriend as she continued, "They are _very _pretty."

"Who sent them to you?" he asked.

Booth responded, "Her boyfriend sent them to her, Bub."

"Oh." His response held a slight disappointment to it that both adults noticed. "Is he nice? He takes care of you, right?"

"He is very nice to me, Parker. Why do you ask?"

"Just making sure, because my friend Tommy's mom was dating this one guy who was not very nice to her, and then he would send flowers to apologize after he hit her. I just want to make sure your boyfriend is treating you right, like a gentleman should always treat a lady."

Booth felt his heart swell with pride as he listened to his son's protective reasoning behind his question. He began to think that maybe this line of questioning was leading to the perfect opening to bring up their relationship.

Brennan also felt a sense of pride toward the little boy's concern for her safety. "Parker, I can assure you that my boyfriend didn't send me flowers after a fight, and I can also say with absolute certainty that my boyfriend is very good to me."

_Here it is the perfect opening. _"Yes, Bub. I am very good to Bones." He scooted closer to Brennan on the couch and slung an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer to him. They both smiled at the boy waiting for realization to set into his mind.

It took him a couple of seconds to process what he heard his father say, and as he looked between the smiling adults he received an affirmative nod from both. A huge smile broke out on his face. "Hey! You led me to believe you were dating someone else. I am glad to hear that you're not."

"I'm glad she's not, too, Parks."

"Parker, you didn't have to assume I was dating someone else; you could have asked who I was dating."

"Okay, you have me there Dr. Bones, but I didn't think it would be very nice of me to be nosy." The boy ran over to her and they shared a tight hug.

As she released him he looked at his dad, "Dad, was this what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes, so what do you think?" Booth asked.

Parker looked at his dad and stood close to him as he placed a hand on his father's shoulder and began to talk. "Well, dad, to be completely honest, I don't know what took two so long. I mean, come on. Angela says that you two have had eyes for each other for as long as you've known each other. I think she is right. Dad, you get this look on your face that is only there when Dr. Bones is in the same room." He then pointed toward Brennan, "she gets the same look on her face."

"Booth, it must run in the family to read faces so well," Brennan said as she nudged him with her elbow.

"Maybe so, but as I recall, there is a certain squint that has had quite an influence on him as well," he said as he nudged her back.

"It's true, Dr. Bones. I think you have the coolest job, ever," he said excitedly. "You play with gross things all day, and you can go see Jack's bugs anytime you want. Oh, and you catch bad guys with my dad. That is pretty cool."

"So…you don't have a problem with me being your dad's girlfriend?" Brennan asked even though she was fairly sure she knew the answer.

"Are you kidding me? It's the best thing ever!"

Parker leaned over to whisper in his dad's ear, "Take care of her, dad." Booth nodded and ruffled his hair in response. "Dad!" He quickly moved his head out of his father's reach, and walked over to Brennan.

Parker then leaned over to whisper in Brennan's ear, "I think my dad needs a kiss, now. He still looks nervous."

Her eyebrows shot up and she gave a look to Booth, then she shrugged. She leaned in a gave him a gentle loving PG rated kiss. When they pulled apart they noticed that Parker was sitting Indian style on the floor with his elbows propped up on his knees and his chin resting in his hands watching the two of them with a giant grin on his face.

"I don't think you kissed him long enough. He still looks nervous."

"Parker, did you tell her to kiss me?" Booth asked laughing at his boy's antics.

"Yeah, I figured it would make you feel better, but you still look nervous."

"Well, I suppose I am slightly uneasy about some things. Parker, the reason we came here instead of taking you to my apartment is because I am moving in with Bones, and most of my stuff is here."

"What? Dad, you don't just move in with someone you just started dating. How long?"

"Seven months, Bub. We just wanted to make sure things were going to work out between us before we told people."

"Okay. So, that means my stuff is here, too?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, buddy. It is in the guest room. We didn't have enough people to bring all of the big stuff, but your clothes and toys should all be in there. The bed that is in there is a full sized bed, whereas the one that is in your old room is a twin. I think it would be best to just use the bed that is here since you are growing like a weed, but I also figured I would ask you what you wanted."

"Dad, I want the big bed. A boy has to have room to grow." He said as he stood up tall and flexed his muscles.

Brennan smiled at Booth for the suggestion of leaving the full sized bed in the room. While she knew that it was true that Parker would need a bigger bed as he grew, she also knew that Booth was relieved that he would not have to move the full sized bed out and then move Parker's twin sized bed from his apartment and into what is now Parker's new room. As it was they were going to have a lot to sort through, and decide if things was moving with Booth or going into storage.

"Parker, your dad and I packed up your stuff, and put it into what used to be my guest room. Do you remember which room that is?" He nodded. "Good, why don't you go take a look, and maybe start to get some things out of the boxes and put them where you want them. I need to talk to your dad for a few minutes, and when we are ready we will come and get you so we can start the movie. Think about what movie you want to watch while you are in there."

"Okay." The boy stood from the floor and walked over to each adult and hugged them as he thanked them for finally getting a clue and for bringing his stuff over for him. He then ran into his new room, and got to work.

"Baby, are you okay," Booth asked her.

"Yes. I am fine. It's just…I don't know. I—" Tears started welling up and running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I cannot quite keep complete control over my emotions." She chuckled lightly at the absurdity of tearing up over something so minute. "I am fine. I am just so happy. I will admit that I was slightly apprehensive about telling him about our relationship. I should have known better. He is his father's son, and his charm and manners clearly reflect your influence on him. Did you hear his concern for me when he was questioning me about my mystery boyfriend?"

"Yeah, I certainly did. He makes me so proud when he does things like that."

Brennan turned slightly and leaned closer to Booth to lay her cheek against his chest. "This was a perfect moment. Would you mind if we waited until later to tell him about the baby? Not that I think he won't be okay with it, but I just need a little bit more time."

"No, it's fine. I have the perfect way to tell him about the baby anyway."

He kissed her head, and then explained his plan to her. Once the details of the plan were settled, Booth bellowed for Parker to come join them and to pick out a movie.

"So, Parker, did you pick out a movie?" Brennan asked.

"I know what movie I would have picked if we were at dad's, but—"

Booth grinned at his son, and pointed over to the other end of the couch, "Look over there."

Booth had packed all of his DVDs and old video tapes in a box and brought them over to Brennan's apartment a few months ago since she didn't really have anything other than _The Mummy_ and a few others. They had not yet found space to put them yet, so they still sat hidden on the other side of the couch where no one could see them. Parker walked over and rummaged through the box until he found what he was looking for.

"Here it is!" He pulled out a worn out VHS case out of the box and held it up like a prize. "I want to watch _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_."

"Good choice, Parks. Bones, have you seen it?" Booth asked her as he rubbed his fingers lightly over her shoulder with his hand that was still draped over her.

"Actually, yes. It was one of my favorites growing up. Russ and I had all of the lines memorized. He would act out the parts of Charlie, Mike, and Augustus, while I would act out the parts of Veruca and Violet. Dad would always watch it with us, too. He would act out Willy Wonka's part. He was a huge Gene Wilder fan. There would be some Saturdays were we would have movie marathons of just Gene Wilder movies. His favorite movies were _Blazing Saddles _and _Young Frankenstein_."

"Wow, Bones. I had no idea. Sometime we may need to have a Gene Wilder Saturday and invite your dad over."

"I think he would like that." She snuggled into him as much as she could. "Alright, Parker, is the movie ready?"

**B&B**

"I cannot believe I still remember all of those lines in the movie," Brennan said as she ate her salad at the diner. "It was really good to see the movie again, and have it bring up some good memories of my childhood. Thank you for picking that movie, Parker."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hey, dad? Can I have a chocolate milkshake?"

"Is the Pope Catholic? Of course you can have a milkshake. You were great with Bones earlier when you were concerned for her, then you picked out a wonderful movie, and then you got all of your homework done afterwards. Not to mention the fact that you already have most of your stuff unpacked. I think all of that hard work deserves a treat. Don't you, Bones?" She nodded.

"Thanks, dad."

Booth noticed Brennan's hand creeping over close to his plate of fries; he lightly swatted at her hand, and then pulled the plate out of her reach. "Get your own fries, Bones. Stop eating all of mine."

"Hey! But, you always share with me." She pouted, and she discreetly pointed down to her abdomen when she was sure that only Booth could see.

Hey rolled his eyes at her, and pushed his plate closer to her. "Here, stop pouting. You're as bad as Parker."

She proceeded to eat not just some of his fries, but all of them. The diner was notorious for the fact that one order of fries covered an entire plate, and could easily feed more than one person. This was in addition to her black bean soup and salad with extra croutons. Booth was certain he had never seen her eat so much, and then she ordered some cheesecake for desert.

Of course Booth ordered pie. When the desert was placed on their table she eagerly cut herself a bite and slowly put it in her mouth and savored the sweet creamy texture and graham cracker crust of her cheesecake, making adorable little humming noises as she ate her little slice of paradise. "Mhmm."

Booth was more inclined to focus on her eating her cheesecake than actually eating his pie. Everything she did was smokin' hot, from the way she cut a little piece off of the cheesecake to the way she slowly brought it up to her lips and took it in slowly, and definitely when she closed her eyes and gave off an endorphin laden smile as she savored each bite. At the moment he was having a hard time fighting the urge to devour her in a kiss her to taste the cheesecake on her mouth as she slowly tortured him with every bite. Remembering that his son was sitting right next to Bones, he had to find a way to reign in his inner cave man. He started to look only at the pie in front of him as he recited the Saints in his head. Once he was finally done with his apple pie, he looked up to see that Brennan was also done with her desert, _Thank God_, and Parker was just finishing his milkshake.

The rest of the night was fairly uneventful for the three as it was getting to be almost time for Parker to go to bed when they got home. Parker unpacked more of his things, and quickly went though his clothes and hung them up. Once he was done, it was bath time, and then he went straight to bed where both Booth and Brennan tucked him in. Booth stayed in his room a few minutes after Brennan left so that he could have a few minutes alone with his son.

"Parker today was almost a perfect day." Father said to son.

"Yeah, it was pretty good. I had a lot of fun."

"Do you know what would have made today better?" The boy shook his head. "Parks, your language when we picked you up today was not acceptable. It is inappropriate for children to use those words anytime, but especially in front of a lady. I know I may not be the best role model as far as foul language, but I would hope that you try to be a better man than me. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I do. Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know how I could possibly be better than you. You're the greatest ever."

"I'm really not, but what is important is that I try." He reached down and made sure the covers were nice and tight around his boy, and kissed his forehead before kneeling down next the his son's bed. "Time to say our prayers." Together, father and son recited their nightly prayer.

"_Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom His love entrusts me here, ever this night be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen._"

"Goodnight, Parker." Booth stood to leave his son's room, and to go get ready for what they have planned for him tomorrow.

**B&B**

The next morning Brennan was up bright and early. She woke up, and then woke Booth up in a really playful mood. After their morning delight and shower, Brennan decided to get started on the pancakes as Booth put on a pot of coffee, and made sure everything was all ready to go. He set the table for three, and made sure everything was in place for their morning plans.

"Booth?"

"Huh?"

"Do you think we should wake up Parker yet?"

"Nah, I just opened his door. He has the Booth sense of smell. He will be awake in a few minutes when he smells food."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me."

Within no time they heard tiny feet padding into the bathroom.

"See, told you. Now get over here before he comes out." She went over, and sat on his lap to give him a quick kiss. Then she turned her attention to the stack of pictures he had in his hand. "Are you ready?" he whispered into her ear, and she nodded. When he heard the bathroom door open he began.

"This one is of Parker on his first day of school. It is one of my favorites; Rebecca took it as he was clinging to my leg because he was too shy to go play with the other kids. Can you imagine, a Booth being shy?" They both laughed. "And this one. Wow. I remember this one like it was yesterday. This one is of Parker and me at the father-son cookout that the FBI held one year. I think he was three in this picture."

"Dad? Can I look, too?" Parker asked rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he walked over to where he could view the pictures in his father's hands.

"Sure, Bub. Pull up a chair." He shifted so that Parker would have a good view. "This one, was taken at his first hockey practice. He was posing for the picture, but slipped and fell at the last second."

"Yeah, but I only fell a couple of times, and now I am a pro skater. Right dad?"

"The _best_, Parks. Okay, now this one was after his team won the championship. Parker was the goalie, and he had just blocked a shot at the buzzer that would have tied the game if it had gone in. Man, that was a close call."

They went through a bunch of old pictures of Booth and Parker. These were really the only ones that Booth had of Parker as Rebecca really didn't give him much other than the photos that he took of Parker himself. When they reached the end of the stack of photos there was one that caught Parker's eyes. Parker took the fuzzy black and white picture in his hand, and held it up to look at it closer. He decided he couldn't quite make out what it was.

"Dad, what is this?" He put the picture down on the table and slid it over to his father.

"A baby," He simply said.

"Is this me?"

"No, buddy. That is not you."

"Then, who is it and why is it in a stack of pictures of me."

"That is your baby brother or sister. Bones and I are going to have a baby. This picture is a sonogram that was taken a couple of days ago at the doctor's appointment." He tightened his grip on Bones to reassure her.

Parker reached over and slid the picture back over to himself, and he stared intensely at it reminding Booth of how Brennan studied her bones.

"Hey, Bub, what are you thinking?" Booth asked, concerned that his son hadn't said anything for a few minutes.

"Well, I don't understand. How can you have a picture of a baby that clearly isn't here? Where is it?"

Brennan turned on Booth's lap to face Parker more fully, and she placed her hand on her tummy as she spoke, "Parker, the baby is in here."

"Did you eat it?" he gasped, looking horrified.

"No, buddy, she didn't eat it."

"Oh. Thank God." He gave off a loud sigh of relief.

Brennan stood to bring in the pancakes from the kitchen. She served them up to her two Booth boys, and then served herself some as well as some fruit.

They ate in silence for a while as Parker tried to process everything. Finally he spoke.

"Dad, I still don't understand. If the baby is in there, and she didn't eat it, how did it get there?"

_Oh, God. There it is. I knew he would ask something like this. Where do babies come from? Rebecca said tell him as much of the truth as was appropriate for his age, but just what the hell is appropriate about telling your kid that babies are made when two people have sex. I cannot tell him that! _

Fortunately, he didn't have to. Brennan decided to step in and save Booth, because it was clear he was having a horrible time sorting things out in his mind as to how much he should tell him. Well, honestly, she knew he was probably fighting with his prudish side as well. Intimate details should be private and remain the knowledge of only the two people directly involved.

"Parker, when two people love each other they—"

Booth dropped his fork making a loud clanging sound as syrup splattered on the table when it landed in the goop. "Whoa! Bones, stop right there…"

"Booth, it is rude to interrupt."

"Bones, I don't think it is appropriate to divulge certain information to people of certain ages," He hissed rather loudly at her."

"Booth, do you trust me?"

"My son does not need to know in scientific detail what—"

"_Booth!_ Do. You. Trust. Me?" She asked more forcefully.

"Yes, but—"

She cut him off again by laying her hand on his arm. She then leaned over, and whispered in his ear. "Just trust me. Russ has already gone through this. When I called him yesterday, I asked him what he told the girls when he found out that Amy was pregnant a few months ago. Just trust me. Okay?" He nodded

"Parker, when two people love each other, and they decide they want to be parents they give each other a special hug. Your daddy and I shared this special hug, and the baby started to grow in my uterus. It is the baby's special home in my tummy. It will grow big and strong in there until it is ready to come out."

"Oh, okay. How long will it take?"

Booth could not have been more proud of _his _Bones than he was at that moment. She had put it into words appropriate enough for a ten year old that he would have never thought of. Sure, she had help from Russ, but even if someone had told him word for word what he should have said, he would have instantly frozen and forgotten every word after suffering the shock of the question.

"Today marks twelve weeks since conception. So, we have a while to go. We don't need to worry about that, right now. Full term is considered to be around 40 to 42 weeks. Sometimes it doesn't take the whole time, and sometimes it takes longer." Brennan explained.

"Am I going to have to share my room?" Parker asked. He had just moved into his new room, and did not want to have to share it with anyone.

"No, I can convert my office to the nursery for awhile if I need to, but to be honest, your father and I were thinking about getting a bigger place. We just haven't talked much about it."

"Yeah, Bub, we have awhile before we need to worry about any of this, so let's just finish our breakfast then we can go watch some Saturday morning cartoons or play video games if you want."

"Sounds like a plan, dad. Hey, Bones?"

"Yes, Parker?" She looked up from her fruit bowl.

"Do you want to play the Wii with dad and me? There are all kinds of fun games. We can team up against dad so that he doesn't win."

* * *

**Review, please.**

**A few have made comments on the "as a heart attack" quote. Yes, while Booth did say this in the premiere, this story was written back in August, so I did not know that was going to be a part of how he told Brennan about Hannah. When I was proofing the chapter yesterday, I decided to go ahead and leave it in as sort of an _Easter Egg_ from the show. **

**I have not even gotten to where my prewritten material runs out yet, but I am not too far off. I am trying to find time to get it cranked out. Posts may start slowing down as I am also dealing with some personal issues as previously mentioned.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	12. Honest Man

They played Wii sports for awhile. Brennan's steep learning curve ensured that she quickly caught on to the mechanics of how the game worked. Thus, by the time they were finished playing, Brennan and Parker had won most of the games. Eventually Parker tired out, and laid on the couch to watch to the adults battle it out. Here, too, Brennan dominated. Booth was taking it all in stride as he expected no less from his partner. She was competitive, and very good at most of the things she attempted. If he was being honest with himself, he really didn't like losing anything, but knowing that she was having fun kicking his ass in something she had just learned made him more than willing to be the loser. He had won in the areas that mattered most. She was _his_. He was _hers_. _Together_, they created a life. They were a _family_.

Parker eventually fell asleep on the couch while watching the adults play the Wii. Once the couple was done playing games, they moved to the dining room where they could talk without the possibility of waking Parker or having him overhear their discussion.

"Booth, did Rebecca not tell him anything about where babies come from?" Brennan was curious as to why a ten year old seem to have no clue. It would seem logical that he would have been told by now, or at least asked questions about it before now.

"I suppose not. He did seem fairly clueless about the subject. I would have figured he at least would know that you didn't eat the baby. I think he hangs out with your squints enough to at least know better than that."

"He really should know by now. What about school? Don't they have sexual education classes at his school? If not I find it highly irresponsible given today's societal norms regarding the adolescents' propensities for engaging in promiscuity or risky sexual behaviors and other harmful behaviors."

"Uh, I don't really know. I know that when I was in school we had general health classes when we entered third grade. As the years went on we would gradually work up to matters more…personal in nature. We didn't actually discuss the, uh, female, uh…_stuff _until junior high. I honestly don't know what they do at Parker's school. Different school. Different area. Different people. Different times. He is still in fifth grade, so maybe it isn't too far off."

"That is also how our school handled sexual education. Although, being in the female class, I do not know what they actually told to the male population about female reproductive organs and reproduction or at what grade they discussed it. For the females, there was a need to be much more detailed much sooner considering we needed to be informed about menstruation and other changes to our bodies. I was just asking because there are times when Parker talks, and it seems like he is much older than his real age. When he was asking about the baby, he almost seemed to regress several years from what I would have expected from his real age."

"Bones, that's psychology. Don't think too much about it. Maybe he honestly didn't know. Sometimes kids are like that. They know a lot about several things, and then they are completely clueless about others. I don't think he has ever even asked Rebecca anything about it. I figure if he did, she would have told me "Do you know what _your _son asked me today?" So, I honestly have no clue how much Rebecca has told him, but I would be willing to bet she has not told him anything if he has never asked. When we met with her yesterday she seemed to really take advantage of the opportunity for us to talk to him rather than her having to do it. I can see where she wouldn't want to discuss this with him yet. It means our baby is growing up, despite wanting him to stay little and innocent forever."

"I can accept that. Although I have only been aware of this pregnancy for a few days, I find myself thinking about our baby and what he or she will be like. I think about the milestones our child will go through. I already have the sensation of wanting to watch the child grow up into an amazing adult, but at the same time I _really _want to savor the time we have during the innocent stages of childhood where life is simple and uncomplicated for our child."

"Bones, that…_that _right there tells me what a wonderful mom you will make for our baby, and the fact that you are concerned for Parker tells me you _already are_ a wonderful mom to my son."

Unsure of what the correct response would be, she felt it better to not respond verbally, but she did get up out of her chair and walk over to where he was seated a few feet away. She sat in his lap pulling him in for a searing thank you kiss that said everything she couldn't adequately put into words.

**B&B**

Sunday morning Booth woke up, quietly slipped from bed, and slowly padded his way into Parker's room to wake him up for Mass. Once Parker was up, he walked into the kitchen to make the boy some oatmeal and turned the TV on to find some cartoons for him to watch to keep his son occupied while he got ready for church himself. When he entered their bedroom to gather fresh boxer briefs and his suit before heading to take a shower he noticed that Brennan was not in their bed. The light was on in the closet, and he could hear her shifting hangers around until she stepped out with one of his good suits. She handed it to him, and reached up for a good morning kiss. Then, grateful that he hadn't yet put on a shirt, she leaned down to his chest to graze her lips over his scar.

"Mhmm. Morning, Bones."

"Good morning, Seeley. I picked out a suit for you."

"I see that. Thanks, Bones." He then looked over to the bed again, and noticed she had a dress laid out for herself. "I also see you picked something out for yourself. Are you coming with us this morning?"

"Yes. While I am not conceding to your beliefs, I respect that you have them, and I wish to accompany you and Parker this morning."

"Are you sure? You're not going to…"

"Yes. I am sure, and I will behave. I promise it won't be like last time. I just want to spend time with both of my Booth boys before one of them has to leave." She reached up for another kiss. "I find it to be an extremely unpleasant feeling knowing that his mother will pick him up right after church."

"Yeah, welcome to my world, Bones." He sighed.

Her face contorted with confusion. "Booth, we live on the same planet."

"It's an expression. It just means that I share that same feeling, and always do when Parker has to leave after a weekend with me. Now, you will experience the same thing each time he leaves."

"That is so unfortunate. You are a wonderful father. I'm sorry you cannot have him here all of the time."

"Thanks, Bones. Let's get ready. Oh, and you might want to cover what is left of that hickey."

**B&B**

Much to Booth's surprise Brennan really kept her word, and didn't make a scene like she had last time she attended the service with him. Last time she had attended was almost right after they had gotten together. This time, though, she didn't insist on partaking in communion like she had before. She simply couldn't understand why he didn't want her to share that experience because she had no intention of relishing in the symbolic meaning of the act. She didn't see where that would piss him off. This time, she seemed to understand that she was wrong before, and that she should not partake in Holy Communion when she clearly did not take credence in its meaning.

He was not completely without concern though. Here they were standing in a Catholic church with his son he had out of wedlock, with his girlfriend he lived in sin with, and with whom he was having another child out of wedlock. While his concern was definitely sound, she didn't lead anyone to believe they were sleeping together, as she had also done before. She seemed to really have come to finally respect his religion. For that he loved her that much more.

**B&B**

Rebecca showed up to pick Parker up around one o'clock, and when she left both partners felt that pang of sadness wash over them.

Before church Booth had made a call to Jared to meet them at Hank's retirement center around five so they could surprise Pops with dinner.

Booth and Brennan were trying to figure out a good way to let Hank in on their little secrets. They figured it simply wouldn't do to just say it out loud. Being cooped up all day had to be tiring and boring for the man, so they figured they could at least bring him a little joy.

They pulled up just as Jared and Padme got out of their car. Together they all walked over to Hank's room. Booth had ordered pizza for them all. It was scheduled to arrive shortly. They had secured a private room for their little party so that they didn't have to eat in the dining hall with old men sending wolf whistles Brennan's way or little old ladies sneaking up behind Booth to grab his ass.

"Shrimp! Jarhead!" Hank exclaimed as the boys entered the room. The two ladies stood in the hall for a second letting their men greet and hug their grandfather. Finally, when they entered more fully they were greeting in a similar way.

"To what do I owe this visit, boys?"

"Well, we just wanted to surprise you is all. We ordered pizza, and secured a room for us to eat in by ourselves. So, why don't we all just start heading that way? Pizza should be here anytime now." Booth explained.

"Sure thing. I wasn't too excited about the mashed peas or whatever the hell else they were going to serve us anyway." He stood from his chair by the window, and made his way out into the hall.

He stepped aside and let Booth lead the way to where they were going to have their private dinner party. Brennan walked next to Booth, both of them really having to make a conscious effort of not making some sort of physical contact that would give them away.

Once the pizza had arrived, they were all deeply concentrated on eating their slices of pizza and a silence had washed over them. After a few minutes Brennan looked to Booth and nodded that now was probably as good a time as any.

Booth shifted to reach into the back pocket of his jeans, and pulled out some index cards. He handed them to Hank.

"Here read these out loud."

"Shrimp! What the hell? I am eating. Who knows when I will get another meal like this one? Give me a minute."

"No, trust me. This is worth it, Pops. Read them out loud."

"Fine." He muttered. He pulled his reading glasses from his front shirt pocket and placed them on his nose. He took the cards and read the first one. "The cost of the pizza-$35.75"

Booth motioned for him to move on to the next card and to keep going.

"You know, Shrimp, your handwriting is very difficult to read.

Bribing the orderlies to give us a private room-$20.00

Cost to fill up the SUV to get here-$60.00

Cost of a stack of index cards-free, got them from the office" Hank let out a chuckle at that one. _Way to stick it to the Government, Shrimp!_

Then he turned to the next and began to read.

"Telling you Bones and I are finally together-A million I told you so's."

Hank looked up at Booth and Brennan who were now sitting as close as they could without being in each other's laps. Both with smiles on their faces, nodding in confirmation. Jared and Padme looked over as well with a similar look of amazement. Hank noticed that this wasn't the last card. He smiled at the couple, and pointed at them and said, "I did tell you so." Booth motioned for Hank to continue. So he did.

He flipped to the final card, "Seeing your faces when we tell you Bones is pregnant-Priceless."

"Seeley!" Jared jumped out of his chair to give his brother a congratulatory hug. "Are you serious? Tempe's pregnant?"

"Yeah, Jarhead. Why would we drive two hours and make a big deal about the cards to joke about that?"

Jared shrugged the rhetorical question off, and both he and Padme congratulated them both again.

"Shrimp," Hank said with a face splitting Booth grin as he stood up from his seat. "Come here, and bring your girl here with you." He walked over to a corner, as if it would provide them much privacy.

Booth and Brennan walked over to Hank. Hank immediately pointed a finger at them. "I told you so. I did. Come here Tempe." Brennan walked into Hank's extended arms as he looked at his grandson with tears threatening his eyes. His voice betrayed his emotion as he choked up slightly when he spoken in Brennan's ear, "Take care of him. He needs you, and this." He said bringing his hand to her stomach.

"I will," she whispered back. His grip on her tightened slightly.

Finally releasing her after what felt like several minutes, he turned to give Booth a hug as well, "Hold on to this one." After a few seconds and several good strong pats on the back later, Booth stepped back. When Hank spoke again his tone was more solid and teasing, but Booth could tell there was still an underlying desire for truth in his words.

"So, Tempe? When are you going to make an honest man of my grandson?"

_Shit, Pops! Don't scare her away! _"Pops!"

Brennan also felt the implication of Hank's question. She knew that as strong as Booth's Catholic background was, it had to have come from being raised by his grandparents because she knew there was no way it came from his father. That meant that Hank's beliefs must be equally strong, if not stronger. She also felt Booth tense up against her as the question was asked. Booth had been the strong influence in many of the changes in her life since meeting him, and in the area of marriage and life-long commitment she also felt her opinion on the matter ease up as time went on in their relationship. She honestly didn't know what she wanted right now. She was not ready to just say she intended on marrying him, but she couldn't just leave Booth to wallow in tension either.

"Booth. It's fine. It was just a question." She said as she slid her hands up and down his arms. "I appreciate the candid and honesty of your question, Hank. Honestly, Booth and I have not discussed getting married. Not since finding out about the baby, and not before either. So, I do not have an answer for you."

Booth couldn't believe his ears. She had not completely dismissed the idea of marriage. She didn't say she would marry him, but she sure as hell didn't say she wouldn't. In fact, she didn't even give her lecture on her opinion of marriage or the antiquated rituals associated with it. He definitely made note of these facts for himself to think about later. Right now, he still had a few slices of uneaten pizza left on his plate, and the way his Bones was eyeing what was left of hers told him they had better get back over there.

"Why don't we go finish our dinner for now," Booth said taking Brennan by her arm and gently nudging her, and Hank followed them back over.

"So, Temperance, how far along are you?" Padme asked as they returned to the table.

Booth and Brennan took their seats and scooted them close together again so that their thighs and arms brushed against each other as they sat next to each other.

"Today marks twelve weeks," Brennan had already taken a huge bite of her pizza so Booth answered for her as he pulled out his copy of the sonogram.

"Wow, so this didn't _just_ happen, did it?" Jared asked.

"No, we've been together for seven months," Brennan replied once she had swallowed her food.

"Shit, Seel. This is great and all. I am very happy for you guys, but you couldn't tell your family?" Jared asked.

"It isn't polite to pry, son." Hank jumped in.

"It's okay, Pops. Jared, we didn't tell anyone. We were afraid our partnership would be split up. We just wanted to make sure that we would work out as a couple before we went public with this. So, don't take it personally that we didn't tell you."

Just then an orderly came into the room, "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over, and we need to get Hank back to his room to get him cleaned up for the night and to give him his meds."

"Alright, thanks." Booth replied. He looked to his Pops apologetically. He was so thankful for the time that he did have with him. He was sad to see it end, but they did also have a two hour drive through D. C. to get back home.

This was the only V. A. retirement center even remotely close to where they lived. They were just thankful it wasn't farther. Sure, Booth could have maybe afforded to put Hank in a regular assisted living center, but Hank insisted on this place since he would qualify for a significant amount of financial aid because of his service in the army, whereas elsewhere he would not have. He didn't want to burden either of his grandsons with the cost of his living.

The others wished the happy couple well and offered more expressions of congratulations as goodbyes were said. Not too long afterward Booth and Brennan were back on the road to go home with the question of the night weighing heavily on both of their minds.

_When are you going to make an honest man of my grandson?_

* * *

**As always, thank you for the wonderful reviews. **

**Can't believe DB kissed Craig Ferguson. That was awkward. Yet, I loved it too much.  
**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	13. Blame Game

**Thirteen weeks and four days**

Work had been going good for the partners since their announcement and mandatory split. Booth had not gotten any calls for a new case, so he mostly just handled paperwork at his office. At first. Then, he realized it was ridiculous to spend so much time doing paperwork in his office when he could easily do his paperwork in _her _office. Just because they currently were not working _together_ on cases didn't mean they couldn't _work_ together.

Brennan would spend much of her time split between Limbo cases, paperwork, and writing to fulfill deadlines for her publishers. So far, she had also stuck to her promise to Booth to keep regular hours.

Currently, she was slumped over a table looking at the remains of John Doe 454, a case she had started working on before, but never really finished. There was something about these bones that she had missed. She had first looked at them right after Zack blew up his own hands and was taken into custody as Gormogon's apprentice. She found that she could not focus on the remains as everything she looked at reminded her of _her apprentice_ and she thought about how she taught him to see the truth in the bones as she could. The lack of focus caused her so much distress she actually shut down her work on that particular case, and shelved it for another time.

As she sat looking at the remains for the first time since then, she immediately noted cause of death. How she couldn't have seen that before bothered her. She was so focused on losing one of her family members that she was unable to see what any intern could have figured out easily. She filed her findings, and turned the documentation in to Cam. She then left the lab, feeling a strong sense of guilt.

_Zack. How could I have forgotten Zack? He, too, is family._

**B&B**

He sat in a cold metal chair in front of a cold metal table. He had a visitor. He didn't yet know who, but the fact that he was in this room told him he was going to be seeing someone shortly.

He didn't know if it would be someone from his biological family, which was very rare considering the distance they would have to travel for the visit.

He didn't know if it was going to be a doctor or one of the many physical therapists Hodgins had insisted on hiring to check up on the continuing progress of his still healing hands.

Could it be yet another prosecutor determined to find a way to actually get him the sentence they felt he deserved?

Or, could it possibly be a member of his former team? His _family_. If so, who? They had all frequently visited him after everything had happened. Hell, he even broke out to help them with a case they were having problems with. Gradually, their visits became less frequent. They had not completely stopped, but still while they used to come on a regular basis, they no longer did. So, now, when he received visitors, he no longer automatically assumed it was one of them. He didn't want to get his hopes up, only to have them shattered.

This time was no different. He didn't know who to expect, and he wasn't making any attempt at expecting, guessing, or hoping. Which was fine by him. In here, he was hopeless. He was no longer someone with a calculated purpose in life. He had naively blown that chance; he had only realized it too late.

The door startled Zack as it opened to let Brennan into the visitation room. She walked over and sat down in front of him. Her eyes telling him how much she missed him, but his mind was only focused on one thing. Her entrance. As she walked over to him, he subconsciously used the knowledge she had handed down to him to check her state of well being. He noted that she appeared safe and fine. He also noted something else. She wasn't physically showing much more than she had the week before, but her gait as she walked, the way she sat down, the way she was currently sitting all betrayed what she came to tell him before she had even said a word.

"Hello, Zack. Sorry it has been awhile since I have been here."

"Hello Dr. Brennan. You are displaying a myopathic gait, which suggests the loosening of the pelvic girdle associated with either a congenital hip dysplasia or pregnancy. Using deductive reasoning, I can assume that the latter is the cause since you have no hip dysplasia of which I was aware unless you have been injured at any point recently."

Brennan reached across the table and laid her hands on his cheeks rubbing circles with her thumbs as she had felt Booth do on numerous occasions to her.

"Yes. It is true." She said through the tears threatening to stream down her face. _Damn hormones. _"I'm pregnant." She brought her hands back down to the table in front of her. She was unsure of what else she could say at the moment. So, she did what any good teacher would have done for their student. She complimented him on his observations. "Zack, I am very pleased with your observation and assessment, and I am relieved that your beautiful brain does not seem to be deteriorating in this intellectually stale environment."

"I would not be so sure of that. I often find myself berating myself in my own head. I was stupid. I was naive. Everything I did held no true logic, or at least not sane logic. Logic failed me. I was played, Dr. Brennan. It is hard not to want to shut down my mind from thinking when all I have to do is sit here and think about what I did, and who it hurt. I hurt my family. I hurt you. More importantly, I let you all down."

"Zack, please, don't talk like that. You made a mistake."

Feeling the need to change the subject from himself back to her, he did just that. "I feel I have not adequately congratulated you yet. Congratulations. I would try to hug you as that seems like the social norm after receiving news of this nature, but it would seem that it looked like the guard was going to have a fit when you just reached across the table to touch my cheeks, so I shall refrain."

"It's fine, thanks."

A few moments of not silence went by before Zack spoke up again. "So, is there a father? Or…"

"Yes. There is a father. While I did once express a desire to use a sperm donor, that is not what happened in this case."

"Oh. So, you are in a relationship, or was this an accident of one of your social dates?"

"I am in a relationship, and it actually was an accident. Even though it was not planned I find myself to be extremely pleased with the outcome."

"Does Booth know?"

"What? Of course he knows. He's…" Then it hit her she had not actually told him of her and Booth's relationship, and he was asking questions that should lead to her telling him who she was seeing. When she had walked in and he immediately made the observation of her pregnancy she didn't even really think about telling him about Booth. Apparently while Zack's brain is fairing well in this facility, her own brain was suffering pregnancy hormones. "Zack, Booth _is _the father. We have been in a relationship for seven months. I'm sorry I should have made that clear earlier in the conversation."

"Oh." While his tone was surprised, his face contorted in a manner that betrayed slight confusion, but mostly hurt. Why had she not told him? Why hadn't anyone been by in awhile? He felt cut off from his family.

"Zack, I am not good at reading people as Booth is, but he assures me that when I make a face like that, he can always tell there is something wrong. What is it?"

"It's just…I don't know. Why didn't you tell me sooner? I feel like no one has been here in forever. I do not know how long it has been since someone from the team has been here, as I am not allowed to have a calendar.

"Zack, I'm sure I can speak for everyone when I say we're sorry. It's just that we are working on evidence to build up a strong case for the gravedigger trial, and honestly, I just found out I was pregnant less than two weeks ago. No one knew about my relationship with Booth until after we confirmed the pregnancy with the doctor. So, it isn't like I just chose to keep it from you. If it helps, I can let the others know that you are feeling slightly neglected."

"I accept your apology, and I would hope that you accept mine for assuming…"

"Of course. I make an effort to come by more often. I will also inform the others that they should as well. I need to be getting back to the lab. Please, take care of yourself, and find ways to keep your mind from being distraught with blame. This is not your fault. Blame belongs to Gormogon. He exploited your rational brain. This is not your fault." She reached across to place her hands lightly on the topside of Zack's badly burned and disfigured hands that still required the wear of special protective gloves. "This is not your fault," she said again. The last thing he needed to do was drive himself to actual insanity with guilt and blame.

As she stood, Zack stood, too. This caught the guard's attention, and put him on alert. Brennan shot him a glare, "I am going to walk around this table and give a hug to a member of my family. Do not try to stop me." The daggers in her glare, and the venom in her tone told him she was serious. Her confidence also told him, that he had better just let the hug take place.

Brennan walked around the table, and held her hands where the guard could see that nothing threatening was going to happen. She wasn't going to slip him anything that could use as a weapon, and he wasn't going to hurt her. She wrapped her arms widely around his shoulders and brought him into her body. Zack could feel her sobs start to rack her body. He whispered in her ear, "This is not your fault, either."

How did he know? It was true. She blamed herself, as well, for Zack's situation. Had she paid more attention to him after his return from Iraq, she could have possibly seen the truth. Hell, had she paid more attention to him, she could have maybe prevented it.

If she were being honest with herself, there was also a slight part of her that blamed Booth as well. He did not stop Zack from going to Iraq. Not only that, but Booth had never really been very nice to Zack. From their very first meeting when Zack had dropped off some information from the team at the Jeffersonian, Booth had given Zack a hard time. Eventually, it was just their thing. But, how much, was too much?

They held each other until Brennan's crying had subsided. She pulled out of the embrace, and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodbye, Zack. I will be back soon."

"Goodbye, Dr. Brennan."

**B&B**

Once she returned to the lab she was immediately called into Cam's office.

"Dr. Brennan, there you are. I need to see you in my office, now."

"Okay, I will be there in a second."

"No. Now."

The serious tone emanating from her boss finally reached the part of her brain that determined it must be a serious matter, so she complied. She walked in, and Cam closed the door and offered her a seat.

"What is this about, Cam. I have work to do."

"Oh, trust me. I know you do, which is why I cannot figure out why you left the lab before lunch, and you did not even feel compelled to notify anyone of your departure, not even your boss. When Booth came in here looking for you to take you to go to lunch and no one knew where you were he freaked out. He tried calling you. Dr. Brennan, he put out an APB on you. He thinks you are missing. He yelled at everyone here for not keeping an eye on you. He yelled at me for losing you. I think he finally fell asleep on the couch in your office waiting for you or any news about you."

"What? This is absurd. All I did was leave for a couple of hours. I needed time to think, and I went to see Zack." She sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think about telling anyone where I was going. I didn't even know until I got there."

"Don't apologize to me. I am used to the fact that you pretty much run your own circus here, but what I really don't appreciate is getting yelled at by a fiercely overprotective expectant father with a gun. I think you should know, he is not going to be happy. In the future, even if you do not tell me where you are going or where you have ended up, it would be wise to at least send Booth a text to let him know."

"I will take that into consideration. Am I free to go?"

"Yes."

Brennan stood and walked from Cam's office to her own, and slowly opened the door to the dark office. She looked over to her couch, where Booth was sitting in the dark. He was definitely not asleep. He watched her walk in and over to him, not even bothering to turn on the lights.

Wanting to placate him before he could get too upset she whispered, "Booth, I'm sorry…"

His tone was soft also, in a dark scary way, but still relief also sounded as he spoke, "No. Bones. Sit."

She sat next to him, and he pulled her into him. All of his relief flooding into his body as his muscles relaxed from the tension that had been encumbering his body. He showered her face and head with kisses.

"Booth, I…"

"No. Don't speak."

He continued to hold her for almost half an hour before he spoke again.

"Bones?"

"Hmm?" She was so relaxed and comfortable in his arms, she had almost fallen asleep.

"Don't you ever take off again. I didn't know if you were taken. I didn't know if you were running from us. I didn't know."

"Booth, I'm sorry. I didn't even think to tell someone where I was going, because I didn't even know."

"Why didn't you answer my calls?" he asked, clearly hurt because he thought that she was ignoring his calls since now he knew that she was safe and actually had access to her phone.

"I had it turned off. I just needed some time to think. I was working on Limbo cases when I came across the one I was working on right after Zack's conviction. I decided to just solve it and get it out of the way because I thought enough time had passed, and it cannot just sit there forever waiting to be solved. When I sat down to look at the remains, the cause of death was staring at me in the face. Almost mocking me. I don't know how I missed it before. Then, I started to think about Zack, and the fact that I had not been to see him in awhile. I felt like I left out an important member of our family, Booth. I didn't know I was going there until I got there. They don't allow cell phones in the facility, so I just left it in the car. It was off anyway. I'm sorry."

His face and demeanor had softened even more as she explained where she had been. He couldn't be mad at her for that, but now he turned his fear driven anger onto himself. "No, baby. I'm sorry. I should have realized that you weren't running from me. I also should have realized that this is one of the safest places for you to be with all of the security here. I should have known better than to jump to conclusions. I know you, Temperance. I should have realized you just needed some time to yourself. I'm glad you went to see Zack. How is he?"

She ignored his inquiry about Zack. "How could you have known? I didn't even know."

"Because, I should know by now that you only turn your phone off when you need some time alone. I supposed I just freaked out a bit. I have gotten so used to spending most of my time with you, that when I actually had to be at the Hoover for a meeting this morning I just assumed you would be here when I got here. When you weren't, I flipped."

"Cam told me."

"Ugh, I should have known she would say something if she saw you before I did. Are we okay, Bones?"

"Yes, we're okay. It was just mis-communication. In the future, I will be more considerate of your protective inclinations."

"Maybe we should take the rest of the day off. Actually, maybe you should check with Cam to see if you can get the rest of the day off. Cullen has already ordered me to call it a day. He told me that the mood I was in was not conducive to a proper work ethic, and that I wouldn't get anything done anyway."

"Just how bad was your little tirade? Cam didn't really elaborate."

"Uh, well, I think I scared away all of your annoying interns. The only one that is still here is Wendell. I think he has seen my temper enough on the rink to be used to it, so it didn't faze him. Cam, she yelled back and told me that she could keep an eye on you, but she is not your damn babysitter. Then, I called Cullen to tell him that had our partnership not been temporarily severed that you would have been with me instead of God knows where. In all honesty, I am not going to tell you word for word what I said to my boss, but just know that he really should have suspended me for some of the things I said."

"Booth, Cullen is fond of us, but you should not take that for granted."

"I know. I overreacted. He knows how protective I am of you. While he didn't suspend me, he did practically rip me a new one. Anyway, I have a meeting with him in the morning to discuss who my temporary partner will be. I think that maybe you should come with me, and insist that you have a say in who gets that honor. I am afraid of who he is going to stick to me."

* * *

**Reviews make the muse happy.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	14. Keeping the Brain Trust Intact

**I didn't expect to have this one out so soon. Lucky you. R&R**

**You know what? I think I enjoy naming these chapters, as much as I enjoy writing them.  
**

* * *

They had picked up some of their favorite dishes from their favorite Thai place, and took them home. As they were sitting there passing around the take out cartons and eating in silence, Booth remembered that she had never answered his question of how Zack was doing.

"So, how was your visit with Zack?"

"He was happy about our news, in fact he pointed out that I was pregnant before I ever said anything other than hello. Other than that he was sad. This is going to sound a lot like psychology, and I suppose it is, but I think that this may be one of the few times that psychology may actually play a significant role. A human being needs to have this sense of purpose in life, and his is gone. He doesn't get as many visits from everyone as he used to get. He says it has just slowly gone down in frequency, and he is starting to feel like he is being shut out of the family. He feels neglected. He feels like he doesn't have a purpose anymore. When we don't visit him, he feels disconnected and isolated. He chastised me for not telling him about our relationship sooner because he assumed that since we were having a baby that everyone else knew about us, and that we just never thought highly enough of him to tell him, too. He felt left out. I think his sentence in the asylum is doing him more harm than good as far as _reforming_ him."

"I can see where he would feel left out; he is isolated from everything he had before, and now it is getting to him. It would happen to anyone in his situation," he said after he had swallowed his bite of food.

"Not just that, but he blames himself for what happened. I tried to explain to him that he was taken advantage of and manipulated, but it didn't seem to have an effect. I think we need to try to get out there to see him more often. All of us. I know you haven't been to see him since you took him back after he broke out to help us with that one case."

"You're right, I haven't. I think I may have taken his betrayal a little harder than I really care to admit. I know. _I know_; that is no reason to abandon family. If you would like me to take you when you go again, I think I would like to go." He smiled at her in a way that she knew he also felt truly sorry for Zack's situation.

She could easily see in his demeanor the signs he often displayed when he felt guilty. She didn't bring it up to him. She figured he knew that she did place at least a fractional amount of blame on him for what happened. She also thought that after the day he had worrying about her, she didn't need to make his day worse, which in turn would make hers worse, too.

"I think it would be good for you to come with me. Do you think that maybe we could bring him something to work? You know, to occupy his mind."

"What, like a case?" He asked around a mouthful of food.

"Yes, a case, or maybe if we cannot do that something equally as stimulating would be sufficient." Brennan replied.

"Well, I don't think it would be a good idea to have him work on any open cases. If he does find something that one of us does not find, we wouldn't be able to put him on the stand. The judge and jury would think it was some kind of joke to put an inmate from the asylum, who confessed to killing the lobbyist, as an expert witness. Caroline would castrate me for a stunt like that. I think the best approach would be to get everyone to remember he is one of us, and go visit him on a more regular basis."

"I told him I would bring it up to the others that he feels cut off from us and that they need to visit him. It's just a really hard time right now. We are all doing our best to find everything we can to use against the Gravedigger. I am working on strictly Limbo cases, and let me tell you I would much rather be in the field. I know you haven't had any cases since we've been split, so I know I haven't missed out on anything. I just hate not having the option of going with you when you do finally get a call."

"Hey, I am not thrilled about it either, but I am not about to put you in a potentially dangerous situation just so you can have a thrill. Okay, Bones?"

She fell silent and just nodded as she pushed around the noodles in her take out container.

**B&B**

After lunch they had sat down on the couch to watch season five of House. They had watched it for hours before finally deciding they should eat dinner. Once they were done with dinner they sat back down on the couch to continue where they left off."

A few minutes after pushing play, Brennan paused the DVD and asked, "Are you nervous about the meeting tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah. I guess. I don't know who I can expect to work with. Cullen did agree to let me stay on as the liaison to the Jeffersonian, but all that means is that I bring all of my evidence to you guys not that he will assign one of you to me. He could stick me with a green; I don't know."

"Green? He's going to paint you?" she asked, clearly confused.

"No, Bones. A green is an agent who just completed training, and has no real field experience. So basically, he could stick me with a kid straight from Quantico."

"Oh. That makes much more sense than painting you. While I understand how that could frustrate you on some level, why would you not want a chance at enhancing the experience of a new agent? Your skill and track record with the FBI is quite impressive. I think you would make an excellent teacher, Booth."

"Maybe so, but I don't want to feel like I have been stuck with someone who isn't fully capable of pulling their own weight in this partnership," he explained.

"You know, if you would let me carry a gun when we get our partnership back, I could pull more weight," she said as she nuzzled into his neck.

"Oh, I can imagine you would. Shooting everything that moves. You can bet your ass that I would make you pull your weight on the paperwork for each round fired, too." He laughed, earning him a bite to the neck.

"Hey!" He poked her in the side causing her to squirm slightly at being touched in a particularly ticklish spot.

"Booth, for what it is worth, I still think you would make an excellent teacher to some new agent, if that is what is decided. You never know, maybe he will assign one of my interns to you."

"Maybe."

She pushed play again to resume the episode they were watching. They were about halfway through the next episode when Brennan started to get restless. She couldn't sit still. She would squirm, and shift her weight.

"Baby, if you need to go to the restroom, just go. I can pause the show." Booth said to her.

"I don't need to go."

"Then, what the hell is with all of the moving around? You keep jabbing your bony elbow into my ribs each time you shift your weight."

A look of guilt passed through her features as she thought of hurting him with her movements, then a pink hue flushed over her. She wasn't embarrassed, but she didn't want him to think she had lost all self control. She didn't even have to answer his question out loud. She gave him a pleading look with raised eyebrows, and all he could do in response nod with a dirty grin on his face. One look, and he was a goner along with any chance of finishing the episode they were watching.

Booth stood, scooped up a laughing Brennan, and carried her to their bedroom.

**B&B**

They awoke the next day very tired, and very late Booth noted with a start when he looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand.

"Shit! Baby, get up. We're late for my meeting. I should have been there five minutes ago!"

She sat up and groaned. Then, as she watched his frantic search for clothes, she asked, "Do you still want me to come with you? It will take considerably longer for you to get there than if you were to go by yourself."

He yawned as he spoke, "Yeah. I know, but I want you there. Besides, I am already late. All I need to do is call him real quick to tell him I am running late this morning, and that I will be there as soon as I can."

She got up and walked to the restroom, talking through a yawn of her own, "Okay, I just need a few minutes to shower."

**B&B**

When they arrived to Cullen's office, Colleen immediately showed them into Cullen's office. As they entered, he looked up with amusement at the still frazzled looking couple that just entered the room. He schooled his features as much as he could as he indicated that the two should have a seat.

"Sir, may I make a request?" Booth asked Cullen.

"You may."

"I do not wish to be stuck with a fledgling…"

"Booth, I still don't know why you are so opposed showing a new agent how things are done correctly. You would be an exemplary teacher."

"Bones, we are not discussing this right now. I am a field agent, not a teacher. Besides, like I said, I want someone who can pull their own weight. I…"

Feeling left out of the meeting being held in _his_ office, he decided to interrupt. "Agent Booth. I am not putting you with a new agent, although the thought had crossed my mind. I am not going to do that, though."

"Good. Thank you, sir. Could I make a suggestion?" Booth asked.

"Is this going to turn into a conversation between you two again, or is it going to be you and I, Agent Booth?"

"Me." Brennan stated.

"No, Bones. Not you."

She shook her head at him. "No. I wasn't talking about me. I was correcting him. He said _you and I,_ but correct grammar would have been to use _you and me_."

"Bones! This is not the time to correct him."

"Maybe not, but as a person who holds as high of a position in the Bureau as he does should know that _me _is used when it is part of the direct object of the sentence, and _I _is used as the subject of…"

"I know, I minored in English. You don't have to explain it to me. I am just saying that you shouldn't be correcting him!"

She pointed at him, clearly amused, "You…you minored in English?"

"Yes. I did. Is that so hard to…"

"AGENT BOOTH!" Came the loud bellow of Cullen's voice. This time he spoke much softer, "Make your request."

"I'm sorry, sir." He cleared his throat before he began. He glanced over to Brennan who still looked amused. And was that a hint of admiration he saw in her eyes? He smiled at her briefly before turning back to Cullen. "Sir, I would like to request that Wendell Bray be assigned as my partner."

"You cannot choose your partners, Booth."

"I would like you to hear me out on this." Cullen indicated his interest for Booth to continue. "I would not have to break anyone in and get them used to working with the squints. Wendell is already there. He knows and understands how things work at the Jeffersonian. He is already a part of it, sir, and I think that it would be wise to take advantage of that fact. Another point that I feel compelled to make is that he is relatively normal, socially. He has an athletic background, just as Bones has her martial arts that has served her well. This means that he would be better equipped to handle things in tough situations than any of the others. I would also feel comfortable with this knowing that he can easily take care of himself, and that I wouldn't have to do it."

"Booth, do you feel that way about me? You know if you let me have a gun…"

"No." Came the simultaneous response from both men in the room, then Booth continued.

"Bones, I know you are more than capable of handling yourself. That is not how I feel about you." He turned back to Cullen. "Sir, I just think that he has the social skills and athletic ability that the other squints lack, and he would be a good choice. On top of all of that, he is the only one of the interns that Bones hasn't really alienated or scared away these past several weeks."

"I did not scare them away. I simply cannot work with people who are incompetent. If they cannot handle the pressure of our field then they have a career choice they need to make. That is not my fault."

"Bones, I am not saying that it is your fault; I am just saying that you have been quite moody as of late, and sometimes you tend to…"

"Say one more word. I dare you. I don't care how it will affect your back. If you finish that statement, you will be sleeping on the couch, _Agent _Booth." She crossed her arms and turned away from him.

Sensing the need to get back on topic, Cullen cleared his throat loudly and spoke. "I do agree with all of your points regarding Wendell. In fact, Dr. Saroyan and I have already discussed this matter, and we came up with the same conclusion. We feel that it is a way to keep the team as much intact as possible."

"Thank you, sir. I really appreciate that, as I am sure the others do as well."

Booth and Brennan stood, and left the office after saying bye to Cullen. Booth swung by the dinner to grab some breakfast for them. She just sat there in silence, and didn't say anything the entire time they ate except to the waitress. Booth then dropped her off at the lab. As they were arriving, Booth's phone rang.

"Okay, Bones. That was Charlie, we have a case." He winced, immediately knowing he made a mistake in saying _we_.

"Wrong, you have a case. You and Wendell." She replied coldly.

"Look, I know you are mad at me, but please stay out of trouble today. If you go anywhere, tell someone. It doesn't have to be me. Just tell _someone_."

She nodded. It was the best she could give him right at that moment. Then, he started to walk away to go find Wendell. She reached for his arm as he turned. She looked into his eyes, and her features softened considerably. She walked into his open arms, and he whispered into her ear. "It's okay, baby. I know. Your hormonal outbursts are not your fault. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know." It was barely audible, and he wasn't certain that she had even said anything. He just held her for a few more minutes.

"Bones?"

"Hmm?"

"I need to…get Wendell. We have to go to a crime scene."

"Okay. Booth?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Can I come?"

"You know you can't"

She sighed. "Come back soon, and don't let them contaminate the crime scene. Oh, and…"

"Send everything back to the lab…I know. I got it Bones. We will be back with the remains and evidence soon enough, and then you can be involved."

"Okay, go."

**B&B**

It was four in the afternoon before they got back to the lab with everything from the crime scene, and given her time restraint due to her promise of reduced work hours that left Brennan with very little time to get acquainted with the details of the case. She had only barely had time to get the basic details. Facts that she was sure Wendell had already given to Booth at the crime scene, but that didn't stop her from making her own assessment of the remains.

"Female. Caucasian. Early thirties. Heavy insect and scavenger activity has sped up the rate of decomp. I would place time of death to be around three weeks ago. Hodgins, take samples of the insects for confirmation."

"You got it Dr. B." Hodgins said as he walked away to complete his task.

"There are several old stress fractures in the small wrist bones and fractures to both distal radii and some on the left humorous. These are usually an indication of the wrists being bound tightly together. Also, here just below the tuberculum of iliac crest, there is an indentation consistent with an old gunshot wound; it looks to be about two years old. Booth, was there a bullet found at the scene?"

"Not that we saw, but if this is an old would it could have been removed."

"Or scavengers may have gotten it as they tore away the flesh. Wendell, take a mold of the injury in the bone, and see if you can match it to a weapon, so that we at least know what was used. We should also pull medical records to see if we can find any that match these injuries."

"Okay." Wendell replied.

"Angela, run the dentals, and get a face for us after Dr. Edison sets the tissue markers."

"Okay, Sweetie." Angela replied as she walked off to her office.

"Okay, Bones. It is time to go home now. Let's let the brain trust do their jobs. Wendell is more than capable of handling things from here. You can work on it tomorrow."

She huffed, clearly ticked that there was finally a fresh case that she couldn't work on right now because of her promise to Booth. She would have to settle for working on it tomorrow if she didn't want to start a fight in the middle of the lab. "Fine."

She gathered her things quickly, and walked out of the lab with Booth running to catch up to her.

"Whoa, Bones! Wait up. What's the rush?" he asked, out of breath.

"I am in a hurry to leave, because if I don't then I feel like I might fight you harder to stay. Let's go," she said opening her door.

* * *

**The next chapter should be interesting, and amusing for those who are frustrated with the show right now. Especially after last night's episode. The only consolation was getting to see a half naked Seeley Booth, and even that was tainted. :(**

**:) Review (:**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	15. Playing Games

**We have some genuine B/B banter here, some fluffiness, some snarkyness, and well a little bit of everything. I have also included a nice little surprise. Enjoy.**

**I haven't said it in awhile, but they aren't mine. If they were, the little surprise would happen exactly like this and then _she _wouldn't be a problem. ;)**

* * *

After dinner, Booth and Brennan got out some board games to play for the evening. Not too far into their relationship, they had decided to start having at least one game night a week. It was the perfect opportunity for the two to talk about things that they didn't already know about each other, or things that came up during times that they couldn't really discuss it further. One such example was Booth's college background. She knew he earned a bachelor's degree from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, but during their meeting earlier in the day she realized that she still didn't know what he studied.

They had grabbed several games and sat down to play. The first game up was chess, Brennan's choice. Booth complained briefly, but conceded as she assured him that he could pick one later.

They set up the pieces, and began to play when she spoke, "So, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that you minored in English. I would have never guessed."

He thought for a second as he made his move, and then responded, "Uh, yeah. Well, I like to read."

She pointed over to the place where many of his books still sat in a box waiting for a place to be cleared on a shelf. "I assumed you did. People who do not enjoy recreational reading do not own that many books. I'm impressed." She made her move which made him inwardly curse. Damn she was good at this game. As he contemplated his next move she spoke again. "Booth, I would like to know more about your education. I know where you went to school, but I don't know what you studied."

"Your turn. Uh, well, let's see…I attended St. Joseph's on scholarship for basketball and hockey, but then my sophomore year the school shut the hockey team down for financial reasons. After that I ran track, and received a scholarship through that. I must have changed my major sixty times," he said with a laugh. "I actually started out being an English major, but then I discovered that I didn't like being told what to read and when. Reading is something I want to do on my own time, but by time that happened, I had already taken enough classes to have an English minor. My major changed several times after that. Eventually I ended up settling on criminal justice with another minor in sociology since a lot of the classes overlapped."

"That is very interesting. It is very telling of your character. You have studied sociology and therefore you have an insight as to why people do the things they do and how social settings can influence their decisions. I think it explains how you can so easily read people, and what motivates them. It also explains why your gut is so often correct. I didn't know that you had actually studied about social sciences. Now, knowing that you do actually have a methodology of how you come up with some of your theories I can trust them that much more. Check, your turn, again."

He inwardly cursed her chess skills again. "Thanks, Bones." He said smiling. He quickly made his move. "Your turn."

"Check mate."

"Damn it. See, this is why I don't like this game. I _never _win."

"Well, you should think before you move. Try to see all of the possible outcomes before making your final decision. If you had done that you would have clearly seen that both my knight and my queen had your king cornered, and then you would not have moved to that spot." She pointed to a spot of the board. "If you had moved here instead…"

"Enough with the chess lesson, next game. It is _my_ turn to choose. Okay, I got it. Yahtzee! It is purely a game of chance. We each have an equal chance of winning this one. Here are the dice; you can go first."

It wasn't long before Booth was cursing chance and luck as it was definitely not on his side tonight. Brennan had gotten two yahtzees and beat him by over 150 points.

"That is just not fair." He said. "Your turn to pick a game."

She thought about it a moment as she looked at the choices of games sitting on the bedroom floor in front of her. Once she made her decision she held it up smiling at him.

"Scrabble? No way, Bones. Look, I just don't feel like losing again, which is exactly what will happen. You will use all of your big fancy words against me, and you will throw in some that I won't even know are actual words."

"No, I won't. I promise."

"Nope, not playing."

"You will, or you won't be _playing _your favorite _game _later." She huffed. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hold him to that considering her sex drive was pretty much sky high, but he didn't have to know she had no intention of keeping her word.

"Bones! You cannot do that to me!" He stood up, and walked away.

"Where are you going?" she shouted. "Hey! Come back!"

"I'll be right back. I'm getting a damn dictionary. If I am going to play that game, I am going to make sure you don't cheat by making up words, and I also get to use the dictionary to help me find words."

"How is that fair?"

"It's fair because my girlfriend is a freaking genius."

He sat back down with his dictionary.

"Fine. If you use the dictionary, I am not going to be holding back like I usually do."

"What? You beat me every time we have ever played this game, and you were holding back? Bones! That isn't fair!"

"So you've said. Since it isn't fair, let's make it interesting, and more motivating for you to do better. I'll make a bet with you."

"What happened to you telling me that degenerate gamblers shouldn't bet?"

"They shouldn't. You shouldn't, but this is a controlled setting with bets that don't really affect life choices. Besides, you aren't going to win, so there isn't a possibility of you getting that thrill that makes you crave more."

"Yeah, yeah. Get on with it."

"If I win, I get to extend my lab hours until 6:00 each day instead of ending my day at 4:30."

"I don't know if I like that idea. What about if I win?"

"You can choose. It doesn't really matter though, because you aren't going to win."

"Stop saying that. Miracles can happen."

"I respect that you have faith, but you aren't going to win. Choose your terms, Booth."

"If I win, we take a week off of work, and go on a vacation."

"Deal."

They shook on it, and proceeded with the game. For once luck was on Booth's side. Brennan's letters just didn't seem to be giving her much to work with. Booth, however, was having a fairly easy time with the letters he was given and using the dictionary didn't hurt either. Booth had gotten several words worth quite a few points on the board. Brennan had some, but not as many.

Finally, luck came back to Brennan, and she formed a word with a letter existing on the board already. "Taenioid, go ahead and look it up, because I know you doubt that is a word." Without a second thought, he did, and damn it; she was right. One of the letters fell on a double word square, and she used all of her tiles which also gave her a bonus of fifty points on top of the word score. The total score for her turn was sixty-eight, which helped her catch up significantly. Ultimately though, he had actually come out on top, winning by seven points, and now she had to not only keep her current hours at the lab, she had to take a vacation.

"Okay, you won, Booth, but you had to cheat and use a dictionary to do it."

"Yep, and now you have to take a week off of work." He smiled like a smug fool.

"Okay, but I get to choose when."

"Fine, and I get to choose where we are going. We can make it a babymoon."

"Babymoon?"

"Yeah, like a honeymoon, but…" He trailed off. He didn't want to scare her off. They still had not talked about marriage since Hank asked his million dollar question. Even though they had not brought it up, it was still something they both thought about.

"Well, it will be a chance to get away from real life before the real changes start to happen. Once you are further into the pregnancy you may not feel like doing anything, and once our jelly bean gets here, we won't get that chance because we won't have time to juggle raising the baby and our jobs."

"That sounds nice. To get away, I mean. I don't usually take the time out of work to do something like that. Just so you know, I probably would have agreed to go, even if you hadn't won the bet. Is there any chance that you will change your mind about my hours?"

"Not a snowball's chance in Hell."

"Booth!" She pleaded.

"No."

"Booth! You cannot keep me on a leash." She huffed and turned away from him with her arms folded across her chest.

_Damn, she's so cute when she is pouting._ "I love you, Bones."

"If you loved me, then you would let me have what I want."

"I love you."

She stayed silent and turned away from him.

He walked up behind her, and leaned his mouth toward her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her and whispered. "I love you, Temperance."

She relaxed in his arms. "I love you, too."

And then she tacked on to her statement of love.

"But I would love you more if you would let me have my way."

"Ugh, Bones. Drop it."

She shifted out of his arms. "No, I will not drop it. Booth, I feel like I am on a leash. I didn't even get to do any real examination of the bones earlier. Do you have any idea what it is like to not be allowed to do your job?"

"Actually, it isn't your case, so technically it isn't your job at the moment. And yeah, I do know what it is like. How about when I shot the clown, and couldn't do my job because they had to do a psych evaluation before they would give me my gun and badge back. Or how about that time when I…"

"Okay, I get it. You do know what it is like, but I just want a little longer to get things done during the day. Please?"

"Fine. You can have until 6:00 each day, but I am not budging on the weekends. No work on the weekends. Also, if you start to feel fatigued it will be perfectly acceptable for you to call it a day early. No one will think any less of you."

"Okay. Thank you." She turned back around and walked into his arms.

"Okay, let's get this mess cleaned up so we don't kill ourselves tripping over it in the morning. Then, I think I am ready for bed after the all of the whoop-ass you unleashed on me tonight. The sooner we get to bed, the sooner you get to consult on the case."

His statement set her into a determined motion. She quickly shoved everything in the boxes, and shoved them under the bed. "There. Bed, now!"

"Bones! It isn't okay for Parker to clean his room up by shoving shit under the bed, and it isn't okay for you to do it either."

"Don't tell me how to clean my room."

"Hey, _our _room. I live here, too. Remember?"

"Ugh, fine." She leaned down, grabbed the boxes from under the bed, and then shoved them in his arms. "Go put these in the hall closet." She smiled and walked off to the bathroom to go brush her teeth.

Booth stood there for a second taking in what just happened.

_Snarky. Damn she is hot when she's snarky. Pregnant, snarky, hot, and mine!_

Booth put the games back in the closet, and waited for her to emerge from the bathroom. When she did, he was all over her. She reciprocated his actions, and they fell into bed together for the night.

**B&B**

It was Friday morning, and Booth just dropped Brennan off at the lab. Since Booth actually had an open case right now, he had things over at the Hoover he had to do. His first stop was by his office to pick up some files for the case. When he walked into his office he immediately went on alert. Someone had been in his office. Nothing was really out of place. Nothing overturned. Nothing on the desk was disturbed. Nothing was missing. But his chair; he always made a habit of leaving his desk chair pushed in facing forward toward the desk and the door. It was turned around facing his sports memorabilia on the wall. He closed the door to his office. As he walked closer he could see the back of a head over the top of the chair. That person who had been in his office was still there. The chair slowly turned around.

"Hello, Agent Booth," the man said.

"What are you doing here?"

"Nothing in particular. Just thought I would pay my almost son-in-law a visit," Max said with a certain gleam in his eye.

"My door was locked. Do you really think it is wise to break into an office of an FBI agent?"

"Nobody saw. Besides, I just came to see how my baby girl is doing. She didn't answer her phone last night, and so I figured I would come see you if she won't talk to me."

"She didn't answer because we were playing games. We have set aside a time to play games with no cell phones or other distractions."

"Games, huh? I bet you were."

"What? Not like that. Board games, Max. Shit, I hope you don't honestly think I would use a euphemism to… "

"Relax, Booth. C'mon, you got her pregnant. It isn't like I don't know you two have sex. Not that I want to think about my little girl like that, but I am not stupid. I know how that all works. So…we didn't really get a chance to talk man-to-man about your intentions toward my daughter."

"Okay, so here we go. The real reason you broke into my office. Max, I love Bones. I am not going anywhere. I am not going to hurt her. I am not going to _leave_ her."

That last one kind of stung Max, but he understood. He did leave. Even if it was to protect his kids, he could see how it affected her. She had since been very guarded, and he was the reason. She blamed him. If he had never been a criminal to begin with, he would not have had to leave to protect them.

"I believe you. I trust you with my daughter. You are the only person she has opened herself up to and she trusts you. Don't break that trust, or her punishment will be by far worse than anything I could ever do to you."

"I know." Booth said. He didn't have any doubt. If she didn't hurt him physically, she definitely had all of the power over him to break him mentally just because of his love for her. That was her most powerful weapon she held when it came to Booth. His heart. She had the ability to crush it if she felt the need to protect herself.

Max stood, and placed a hand on Booth's shoulder as he said, "You're a good man, Booth. I will trust you as long as she does. Also, don't let her stubbornness bully you into settling. If you want to marry her, ask her. I can see it written all over your face, kid. She can too; I bet she is just waiting. Now, I am going to go to the lab and tell my baby girl hello before I have to start getting things ready for the after school discovery program. Take care."

_Hell yeah, I want to ask her! But what if she isn't ready? _"See ya. Tell Bones I will be by for lunch," Booth said as the man walked out of his office. Booth walked over to his chair and slumped into it. _Jesus, Bones. You can't just have a normal father?_

**B&B**

When Brennan arrived at the lab she immediately swiped her card, and went to the forensic platform. She didn't even bother to stop by her office first to drop off her stuff or grab her lab coat.

"What do we have so far," she asked Wendell who was the only one present at the moment.

"Oh, hey, Dr. Brennan. Don't you want to get your stuff put away, and get your lab coat before you start in on the examinations?"

"I will before I start looking at the remains, but I asked you if you found anything. Just answer the question."

"Actually, not really. I have found several old wounds. Nothing that looks recent, and all of the old injuries look like they may have been either from severe abuse or maybe torture. I think Angela may be almost done with the face; she is in her office."

"Thank you, Wendell. Good observations. I will be back shortly."

Brennan walked to her office to drop off her stuff, and grab her coat. Before she could leave her office, Angela walked in.

"Hey, Sweetie. I have a face, a name, and confirmation from the dentals. It looks like our victim was a reporter. Her name is Hannah Burley. According to her records she is usually gallivanting off in far away countries doing war correspondence."

"That may explain some of her past injuries. If she was captured during her time overseas she could have very well been tortured. Her remains show evidence of being bound and likely tortured at some point in time. Good work, Angela. She may have come across some information that someone didn't want her to have. We need to get a list together for Booth. He is going to want to know about her past assignments, as well as any she may have been currently working on or may have had coming up. He will then be able to come up with a list of people who might be involved."

"Okay, I will get right on that." Angela turned, and walked away brushing past Max as he entered his daughter's office.

"Hey, honey. How are you doing? Booth treating you right?"

"I am doing great dad."

"Good. I'm glad. I paid Booth a visit this morning over at the Hoover. He said to tell you he would be by for lunch."

"You went to see Booth? Why?"

"Just…to talk."

"Dad! Please tell me you didn't threaten the father of my child!"

"Now, Tempe, give me more credit than that. I didn't directly threaten him. I implied, well no, I flat out told him to treat you right or you would punish him far worse than I ever could."

"While that may be true, I do not appreciate the gesture. I can take care of myself. Besides, I do not need you to say something to scare him away from me. I think I do a good enough job of that myself." She muttered that last statement.

"What do you mean by that?"

She knew Booth wanted to marry her. She knew he wanted to ask her. She also knew that her previous opinion on the matter is probably why he hadn't asked her. She knew he was afraid of rejection, and really who could blame him after her blatant hurtful rejection outside of the Hoover all those months ago. She looked at her father unsure if she should confide in him. Hell, she had not even talked to Angela about this, yet. This was her father. She could talk to him, right? They were very close before he left her. She really wanted to get that relationship back. Maybe this was one way she could, but she wasn't ready to talk about it, yet.

"Nothing. I just don't want him to find some reason that he wouldn't want to stay with me." She said looking down at her hands.

"Aw, honey. That man is smitten with you. If me being your father was going to scare him away, it would have happened a long time ago. Besides, if I know Booth like I think I do, he wants to marry you. He isn't going anywhere."

* * *

**So, I hope everyone enjoyed their surprise. If I had my way, that would be how they met Hannah Burley. Sadly though, I like her character, and will continue as long as she isn't a permanent fixture between them. Damn HH for making her likable. Never give up hope. _Everything happens eventually_.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	16. Unplanned Plans

**Sorry it has been a few days since the last update. This chapter was somewhat of a challenge. I rewrote it several times. In fact, this chapter was getting massively long, so I did split it. The next update should come much quicker. R/R**

* * *

"Dad, you cannot possibly know that Booth wants to marry me!" Brennan replied to her father. She may not be ready to talk about it yet, but it seemed like her father was ready to give her a shove in the right direction, regardless.

"Honey, look at me. Hear what I am going to say to you." She nodded for him to continue. "When I went to talk to Booth earlier I told him to not let you bully him into settling. I shouldn't even say this because I know you won't like that I told him this as if I was giving him permission, but I told him that if he wants to marry you that he should just ask you." He held out his hand to stave off her protests. "He didn't deny wanting to marry you. I just think he is petrified of what your answer will be."

"_I'm _petrified of what my answer might be." She said softly. "I love him; I do. I have come to realize that maybe being married wouldn't be such a bad thing, as long as I am married to Booth. I find I am still uncomfortable with the concept of forever, but I think that as long as we take it on our own terms and it doesn't change who we are fundamentally then I think the concept is actually appealing. Then, there are also the legal advantages of marriage. As his wife, I would have rights in medical emergencies, and he would, too. There are other things like tax benefits, but money is not an issue. Plus, he would have parental rights with our child that he, sadly, does not have with Parker."

"Why haven't you talked to him about this?"

"I am just starting to figure it out on my own. I just want to be sure, first. I would like to bring it up, but I don't want him to think that I just want to marry him for the baby's sake." She looked down at her hands.

"You know, now that I think about it, Tempe, maybe he hasn't asked you for that same reason. He doesn't want you to feel like he is just asking you because you are having a child together."

She looked back up to him, "Dad, I think you may be right about that. He told me once, that when he found out that Rebecca thought she was pregnant, he proposed to her while they were waiting for the stick to turn blue. She said no."

"Oh, yeah. That would do it. I can't imagine he would want to relive that moment with you," Max said as he brought his hand up to rest on her forearm. "I think that you need to find a way to hint to him that you are ready. You are, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am." She smiled brightly at her father, now _very _thankful that he pushed her into this conversation.

She was now able to admit it to herself, so maybe now she could find ways to admit it to Booth without just proposing to him herself. While she believed that women had every right to propose as a man does, she also knew that his own respectable old fashioned personality would prefer that the gentleman has the honor. This meant that she had to do as her father said. She had to find a way to hint to Booth that she was ready to take that step, and convince him that he should not be afraid of asking her or be so afraid of her answer that he never asks altogether.

Her father took her in his arms, and she whispered to him, "Thanks, Dad."

**B&B**

It was just before noon when Booth showed up at the lab. He quickly scanned the forensic platform for his girlfriend. He was surprised to find himself relieved to not see her there. He was relieved because that meant that instead of hunching over some remains she was probably in her office sitting at her desk waiting for him to arrive. He made a last second decision to head into Angela's office. She looked up at him, thoroughly surprised to see him standing there. For once, she could not read the expression on his face. When he spoke it did nothing to relieve her curiosity over his seemingly strange demeanor.

"Is she ready?" Booth asked. He wasn't trying to be cryptic on purpose.

_Does he mean is she ready for lunch? Ready for motherhood? What else could he mean?_

When she didn't answer right away, he asked again, "Do you think she is ready?"

"I think she is ready for lunch, but shouldn't you be finding her to ask her that?"

"No, that isn't what I am asking, Ange." He willed her to understand without having to elaborate. He realized in hindsight that it was probably not the wisest decision he had ever made to suddenly appear in Angela's office, but it was also too late. He was too far to not just come out with it. "Marriage. Do you think she is ready?"

"Whoa, G-man! Are you going to propose to Brennan?" Her excitement was barely being contained by a very strained piece of self-control.

"No. I wasn't planning on it. She has made it clear in the past that marriage was not something she wanted. It's just that when we told Pops about us and the baby he asked us when she was going to make an honest man out of me."

"Wow! Uh, how did Bren take it?" Angela asked.

"Well, that's the thing. She has always had an aversion toward the concept of marriage, but when she answered the question she didn't exactly say that marriage was what she wanted. All she told him was that we had not discussed it. She didn't completely rule it out entirely."

"That's progress. Do you think that she might be coming around to the idea?"

"I don't know. Maybe. She hasn't said anything since, but I got an…interesting visit from Max at my office this morning…"

"Max was here earlier, too."

"Shit. Do you know what he and Bones talked about?"

"No, I wasn't in the room. I was just leaving her office when he showed up. Why? What are you worried about? He is here all of the time. He does work here, you know."

"It's just…what he said to me before he left…"

"Just spill it."

He took a deep breath and spoke, "He told me that I should not let her bully me into settling. If I want to marry her, then I should just ask her. It was almost like he was giving me permission, and he said she was probably just waiting for me to ask."

"Oh, she is going to hate that. You better hope she never finds out. The only positive thing about that is that you didn't ask her father for permission. That would have been equivalent to signing your own death certificate."

He laughed at the morbidly accurate joke. "Yeah. It would. Shit, Ange. I don't know if Max is right in saying that she is waiting for it. Do you think that maybe they talked about this before, and he knows something I don't? Because I gotta tell ya, I do want to marry her, and I do want to ask her, but the problem is that I don't want her to think I am disregarding her beliefs, and I definitely don't want her to think I just want to marry her because of the baby. I've been down that road before, and it isn't happening again."

"Okay, stop. Listen, Booth, Max is right. You cannot let her bully you into settling. You both deserve better than that. Her views on marriage may have changed. If she is just waiting for you to pop the question, are you willing to make her wait?"

"Shit. Thanks, Angela. Now, I am no closer to a conclusion than when I came in here. I had never thought about it like that. What am I going to do?"

"Why don't you just talk to her?"

He ran his hand over the back of his neck as if the very thought of talking to her about this was the most nerve wracking experience he was ever going to experience, and on some level it was the truth. "Because if I do, what if I scare her off with all of the talk of forever, marriage, commitment, love, and all of the expectations."

"Slow down. First of all, Bren already loves you. You tackled that hurdle awhile ago. Second, she has already committed herself to you. Third, why are you worried about forever? You guys have never been the kind of people to put a timeline on things. If she needs to feel like you are taking it one day at a time, then do it. Make no mention of forever, but I am telling you, the second she accepted you into her fragile heart, she also accepted the concept of forever. She just might not have realized it."

"Okay, but what about the expectations? The wedding, the rings, the pressure, the…"

"Do you honestly want to know what I think?"

"Well, yeah. That is why I came in here." He shifted uncomfortably.

"Okay. If you haven't heard anything else I have said, hear this. Stop thinking so much. How many times have I heard you tell Bren to stop thinking so much? She told me what you said to her before her dad's trial."

As he remembered what he said to her a few years back, he closed his eyes, and let the words reverberate in his head.

_Bones, just take the brain, okay, and put it in neutral. Alright, take the heart, and pop it into overdrive._

Maybe he _was _over thinking this, but how on earth could he be sure that he wouldn't send her running for the next flight across the world. For all of her fears of people leaving her, his fear of her running was just as comparable. Would she do that to him? Would she just take off with their baby? He decided, no; she wouldn't do that. He had to trust her. If she sensed that he didn't trust her, that could push her away just as fast as anything else.

He pulled something out of pocket and looked down at it.

"What's that?" Angela asked.

"Apparently before I got to my office, Max not only picked the lock to get in there, but he picked the lock on my desk and put this in my drawer." He held up a beautiful solitaire with a modest princess cut diamond and platinum finish.

"Oh my God!" She said in a gasp. "It is absolutely gorgeous. Is this…"

"Her mother's ring, yeah. He left a note with it telling me that if I wanted I could give it to her. Bones doesn't even know that her father had her ring. Do you think she would be okay with using her mom's ring or would she want her own?"

"I think it would be perfect. Her parents are a good example of love that lasted as long as it could, and actually still exists with one of them. The only thing that separated her parents was the death of one of them. Is it just the engagement ring, or did he leave the wedding band, too?"

"No, it's just the engagement ring," he replied.

"Okay, good. Get her a wedding band that matches the solitaire so that she can have a ring of her own."

He finally gained enough conscious thought to thank Angela, and then left to go find Brennan for lunch.

**B&B**

Booth and Brennan decided to just head home for lunch rather than go anywhere. Booth was making himself a roast beef sandwich, and Brennan making herself a fruit salad, when Booth's phone rang.

He picked up the phone, and knew upon seeing the caller ID that this call probably was not good.

Rebecca. She never called with any good news.

"Booth."

"_Hi, Seeley. It's Rebecca. Hey listen, I need to talk to you about this weekend. I need to take a trip up to visit my parents in Maine. My dad isn't doing so well, and I'm taking Parker…_"

"But, it's my weekend. Can't you take him on one of your weekends?"

"_Not really. Also, next weekend he has a birthday party to attend, and then Brent wants to take us all out to the beach. So, we won't be able to just switch weekends._"

"So, let me get this straight. You want to take Parker during _my _weekend to go see your parents when you could have done it last weekend during _your _time with him? _Then_, you want to use yet _another _one of _your _weekends with him to do something else instead of switch with me, which is _also _a time you could take him to see your parents. Look, that is bullshit, and you know it. That will mean that the next time I see him it will have been four weeks since our last visit. That isn't right!"

"_Sorry, Seeley, but sometimes plans change, and there is nothing you can do about it. Brent had already asked for next weekend off so that we could go to the beach. I am not trying to take your weekend from you. It's just that, my dad is dying, Seeley. I just want Parker to spend some time with him._"

"How many times have you fed that 'my dad is dying' excuse to me? Don't you think that there are other people involved in this to consider than just you and what is convenient for you? Since Brent actually has the time off next weekend, you could all go to Maine. _Next _weekend. During _your _weekend. Leave _mine _out of this."

"_I'm sorry, Seeley. This is just the way it has to be. We leave tonight._"

"If you leave with him, you _will _regret it. I'm _not _kidding this time, Rebecca. I am tired of getting bullied by you. I am tired of not having rights to my son," he yelled into the phone.

"_We are leaving tonight, and there is nothing you can do about it. Goodbye, Seeley._"

Rebecca hung up on him, and Booth flipped his phone shut violently. He let out a few choice words before throwing his phone against the wall effectively breaking it into about a hundred pieces. Pieces of plastic flew in all directions, and Brennan gasped at the noise and sight of flying plastic as it scattered around her kitchen.

She knew from his end of the conversation that things were bad, and probably going to get worse judging from his last statement to his ex, and the fact that he just shattered his phone against the wall..

She wanted to comfort him, but she didn't quite know how. He didn't look like he would be easily comforted, and not only that his appearance was slightly frightening. While she knew he wouldn't hurt her, the sheer amount of anger in her boyfriend's eyes was enough to make her hesitate to move closer to him.

To her surprise, though, he came to her seeking her warmth, love, and comfort. As he approached her his appearance softened from anger to a defeated posture, and as he wrapped his arms around her, both of them relaxed the tension they had been carrying from the conversation with Rebecca.

"Let me call Cullen, and let him know you won't be back in today."

"No, Bones. Look, we have an open case, I cannot just do that."

"You are in no way going to be able to put your best into this case right now. Besides, my team has not really found anything you can use right now. If they find something, they can call. Otherwise, our weekend starts now, Booth. That's final." She loosened his tie, and slid it from around his neck.

"Okay, but what are we going to do about my phone? If someone tries to call they won't be able to reach me."

"I will also make a call to have your calls forwarded to my phone."

"Thanks, Bones." He pulled her in for another hug, and then went to change out of his suit.

While he was changing, she also called Cam to let her know that she needed to stay with Booth. Cam agreed that it would be best for her to stay to make sure he is okay.

Brennan was surprised when Booth came out of the room in one of his band t-shirts, and his dark jeans, looking ready to go somewhere. He grabbed his keys from the bowl on the counter, and simply told her that he would be back soon. He didn't say where he was going, and didn't offer to let her come with him.

* * *

**Review.**

**Thank you to all of my loyal reviewers. You guys really feed my inspiration for this story. Like I said, the next update should be much quicker since it is already written. I just need to perfect a few things and proof it. TGIF! **

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	17. On the Same Page

**Two updates today, mainly because I feel bad about the long wait, and because I am just writing up a storm. And it's Friday, which means I have all weekend, plus Monday to write. Columbus Day! Whoop for teaching preschool. R/R**

* * *

Brennan was sitting around folding laundry and listening to music. It was about an hour and a half after Booth left, and while she trusted him, she couldn't help but worry just the slightest bit. So, when the doorbell rang her heart threatened to jump up her throat, and it felt like her stomach filled with acid. She sat there for a few seconds debating on answering the door, afraid of who may be behind it or what news they could bring her. She cleared her mind, got up from the couch, and slowly walked over. When she looked out of the peep hole, just as Booth instructed her to always do, she sighed in relief, and she flung the door open.

"Ange!" She ran into her friend, and hugged her like she thought she would never see her again.

"Umph. Surprise, Bren!"

She finally let go, and then stepped aside for Angela to enter. When she came in, Brennan ushered her into the living room, which was a little less than tidy at the moment with laundry strung all over the place. Clean clothes were waiting to be folded, as well as piles of clothes waiting to be washed.

"Sorry about the mess. I wasn't expecting to have company."

"It's okay. I'm sorry to just drop in like this, but I figured I would come and make sure everything is alright. Cam mentioned something about needing to take care of Booth."

She sighed and told her friend about Booth's conversation with his ex about his son.

"So, where is Booth now?"

"I don't know. He didn't talk about anything, and he didn't tell me where he was going. Ange, he didn't even ask if I wanted to go with him."

"Sweetie, maybe he just needed some air."

"Angela, as a living breathing species we all need oxygen to…"

"Too literal, Bren. He just needed some time to himself."

"This is not the time for him to start shutting me out." Brennan was in tears now. _Damn hormones_! She swiped at her eyes quickly, but it was too late, Angela had already noticed her friend's tears.

"Aw, Bren. Come here." Brennan walked into her friend's arms. "He probably just didn't want to stress you out with his problems. You do need to calm down; stress is not good for the baby. Have you tried to call him?"

Brennan gave an exasperated laugh, and pointed over to the wall and floor. "He shattered his phone into an indeterminable amount of pieces. I left the mess for him to clean up. He made it, and I am not here to clean up after him. I arranged for all of his calls to be forwarded to my phone. Essentially, I would be calling myself."

"So, you have no way of knowing where he is, and no way of contacting him?"

"No, which means he also has no way of contacting me if he gets into some sort of trouble." She plopped down on the couch, and knocked off a stack of already folded clothes. "Son of a bitch."

She picked up the clothes and refolded them. Angela started to help her with the other piles that needed folding. Angela held up a pair of Booth's Scooby-Doo boxers and opened her mouth to say something, but Booth chose right that second to open the door.

He came in holding a few manila folders which looked stuffed with legal documents. He walked past Angela, and ignored the fact that she was holding his underwear up in the air like a flag. He sat next to Brennan, and handed her the file.

"I don't know where to begin to apologize for leaving like that, but I guess the most simple way is to say I'm sorry. I'm _so _sorry, Bones."

She laid her hand on his knee and gave it a slight squeeze. "I accept your apology. Can I ask where you went?"

He sighed. "Just open the file."

She opened the file as requested, and she looked at the documents. Some of them were blank and needed signatures, and other information. "Booth, what is this?"

"Ange, could you…"

"Sure, I was just on my way out. I'll just…call me later, Bren."

"Goodbye, Angela." Brennan waved to her friend. Once the door was shut behind her, Booth started to explain.

"I went to see Caroline. I needed to know what rights I do have, and I asked her to draw up these papers to file for custody of Parker. I didn't sign or file them because I knew I needed to talk this over with you. I'm not just looking to expand my rights for visitation with Parker. I want full custody."

"Do what you want, Booth. I will support you one hundred percent. I just wish you wouldn't have shut me out."

"Baby, I didn't mean to. I didn't even know where I was going until I got there. When I got there, Caroline chewed me out for not making an appointment."

"I'm surprised Caroline took you on as a client. She's very busy with her prosecution cases, and this isn't really her area of expertise."

"Yeah, she didn't want to at first, but she said would under one condition."

"Is she feeling puckish again, because if so, whatever it is can be arranged." She smirked.

"All she wanted was my word that I would do whatever it takes to, and I quote, _keep my bone lady safe and happy for as long as we both shall live._"

_For as long as we both shall live._

As both of them reflected on Caroline's words, chills run up the spines of both of them. Neither said a word, or expressed to the other the desire to get married.

"Booth, will you be okay for a little while, I need to go…do something before a place closes. I shouldn't be gone too long. I would have done it earlier, but I wanted to be here when you got back."

"Sure, go ahead, Bones. I think I may just clean up this mess, grab my comics, a couple of beers, and take a nice hot bath."

They both stood from the couch, and he took her into his arms. "I love you so much, Bones. I am glad to have your support with this."

"I love you, too, but I would support you with this, even if I was still just your partner. Booth, you are a wonderful father, and the way Rebecca jerks you around is not fair to you or Parker."

"Sometimes, I swear that woman is bipolar. She is fine one minute, and then the next she is against the world and takes it out on me. She was so happy that we are finally together, and she seemed genuinely happy about the baby, too. Now, she just seems like the same selfish bitch who wouldn't let me be involved with the pregnancy or birth."

"Bipolar disorder is a real and fairly serious mental health condition. If you think that she really does have the condition, maybe that could be used to help us get custody."

"I don't know that she actually has it. It just seems like it can be the only way to explain her behavior sometimes."

"Okay. Just…don't go making accusations that could possibly harm your chances of getting Parker if they are proven false. If you think it may be a possibility, maybe you should consult Dr. Wyatt or Dr. Sweets."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea."

"I will be back soon. I love you." She hugged and kissed him once more before leaving their apartment.

**B&B**

On her way out of the building she called Angela to see if she could meet her somewhere. The artist agreed to meet her at the diner for coffee. As they were leaving Brennan brought up the real reason she had called her friend.

"Angela, could you accompany me while I go shopping really quickly. I just need your advice. When we get there, do you think you could keep your squeals to a minimum?"

"I can try, but maybe you should tell me now so that by time we get there I can better contain myself."

"Okay, I need to go to the jewelers. I would like to get a ring for Booth."

_How perfect. They are finally on the same page. _

As predicted, she let out an Angela worthy squeal comparable to the ones she let out the day she found out her best friend had finally gotten together with her _sex-on-a-stick _partner. "This. Is. Huge! Are you going to ask him to marry you?"

"No. I don't know. I just want to get him a ring. I haven't really thought it through yet. I do know that he will want to be the one to propose. I haven't exactly figured out how to tell him I am ready to marry him. My father said that when he visited Booth this morning that he told Booth that if he wanted to marry me than he should just ask. My dad said that he didn't deny wanting to marry me. That means that he does, and he just hasn't asked me because he is petrified of the answer I will give him because of my past opinions on marriage and monogamous relationships."

"Of course he wants to marry you. He's bat-shit crazy about you."

"What does bat guano have to do with Booth's mental cognizance?"

"Never mind, Sweetie. He loves you."

"I know. He tells me." Brennan smiled dreamily at her friend.

"I'm sure he shows you, too huh?"

"Yes. Booth is quite exceptional at showing his love for me, and does so quite often."

"By the way, earlier when we were folding laundry, I notice that one of his socks was missing. Did you ever find the mate?"

"No."

"I think that…maybe you should look at the lampshade in the corner of the room. It seems to have landed there during what I can only imagine as a hot, steamy, and very hasty removal of clothing."

"Ugh, Ange! Why didn't you tell me? That is so embarrassing. That particular sock was lost six days ago. I cannot believe it has been there that long, and neither of us noticed."

"Temperance Brennan, _embarrassed_? That is new."

"Well, it is personal. I find that my intimacy with Booth is much more personal and private to me than all of the sex dates that meant nothing to me other than to procure a sexual release."

"I can respect that as long as you throw me a little morsel of hotness every once in a while."

"I don't know, Ange. Booth would not be too happy if I revealed too much. Well, we're here. Let's go look at rings."

The two walked into the department store, and was greeted by a cheerful redhead with too much makeup on. "My name is Veronica. How can I help you ladies today?"

"My friend here would like to look at men's rings."

"It looks like the recipient is a very lucky man. We have men's rings over here in this display, and the one next to it. Is there a certain price range you need to stay in?"

"No, money is not a problem. Can I see your platinum rings?" Brennan asked.

"Yes," she said as she pulled out a few cases from the glass display. "We have these here. There are a few simple ones, and then these two have more ornate designs on them with diamond accents."

"What do you think, Ange?"

"I know that he probably wouldn't go for the two swirly ones. Not manly enough for him. I think he would like the simple one with no ridges or designs. It would suit him more." It would suit him more, but she was also thinking of the ring that Booth had shown her just this morning. It looked like it would be a perfectly complementary ring to her mother's ring, and if one didn't know any better they would think they came as a set.

"Good, that is exactly what I was thinking." She turned her attention back to the sales associate and asked her, "is there a set of women's rings that would accompany this simple one?"

"Yes. Let me get them." She walked over to another case, and brought over the women's set. "There are several to chose from that are complementary to that particular ring that you chose."

"Bren, maybe you should just get his ring, and then let him help you pick out yours." She didn't want her friend to spend money on a ring when Booth already had the perfect ring.

"That might be a good idea. He will want to take part in this. Veronica, I will just take the men's ring for now."

"Certainly, let me just ring it up really quickly, and I will bring you the bill. What will your method of payment be today?"

"Check."

"The total will be $2849.99." Veronica said as she placed the ring in a black velvet box, and placed it into a small bag.

Angela was standing behind her friend and mouthed, "Wow."

"Okay, Ange. Let's get going; there is one more place I want to stop before I go home. It's almost five, but maybe I can catch her before she leaves."

* * *

**;) You like? Tell me in a review. Thanks in advance, because I know I don't tell you guys enough how much it means to me. **

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	18. Just Perfect

**Another update so soon? Yeah, this is pretty much writing itself right now. I have a few things planned. We find out where else Brennan went, and then some very heavy fluff to counter some of the events to come. Things to make the family stronger, and bring out a fierce Booth. It might also be time for some Nekkid Booth and Brennan soon. I don't know yet. I have finally ran out of pre-written stuff a few chapters ago, so nothing is written beyond this chapter other than a few hastily written down plot ideas. My plan for this story is not really set in stone. As it is right now, this has the potential to be a massive fic, and I would very much like it to be. In this chapter we are just hitting week 14 in the pregnancy, so there is obviously quite a bit to go with that. A pregnant Brennan has so many possibilities. R/R**

* * *

When Booth woke up Sunday morning, he got up quietly so as not to wake his sleeping beauty. While she had gone with him to church several times in the past couple of weeks, he figured she was in need of some much needed rest.

Yesterday they had spent a little bit of time getting Booth a new phone. They had a very lengthy conversation with the person doing the sales that all they needed was the phone, not an upgrade package, and not a fancy smart phone; with his line of work there would be no telling what would happen to it, not to mention the resulting demise of his last phone due to his temper. The sales person did manage to talk them into combining their phone bills into a family plan, and ended up saving some money.

Then, they spent a good chunk of the day with Caroline talking about Booth's situation with Parker. Caroline had actually agreed to meet her favorite couple on a Saturday since her normal work load was overwhelming on good days. Plus, Booth needed to get the ball rolling on the custody battle as soon as possible to catch Rebecca off guard. Sure, he threatened her, but she probably didn't really take it seriously, as he had done so many times in the past as well. This time, though, it was different. He was starting a family with the love of his life, and it would not be fair to any of them to constantly have to battle Rebecca and her self-serving schedule for when he was allowed to see his son. Not only that, but Booth couldn't quite place this feeling that something more was going on than was apparent from the outside.

They talked about ways he could also gain temporary custody until the final decision was made, but it was quickly determined that it might not be possible considering there is no evidence of abuse, neglect, or any other indicator that she was an unfit mother. Booth did not bring up his bipolar theory, but he definitely thought about it. Anyway, they had come up with nothing.

They also discussed the fact that since there was not enough to gain them temporary custody the chances of getting full custody were slim. Judges typically sided with mothers in these types of battles. If anything, the judge would meet them halfway and grant joint custody, which is by far more than what they have now.

There was one way that would increase their chances in getting a full custody ruling. Caroline did not even bring it up. She had received a very interesting visit from a certain forensic anthropologist on a mission as she was leaving her office the day before that indicated that she did not need to bring the issue up just yet. She was going to wait a few days to see how things played out between the two lovebirds.

_Caroline was just getting ready to leave her office. She grabbed her jacket, purse, and briefcase full of files, and as she turned to walk out when she bumped into someone._

"_Cherie, what are you doing here? Do you not own a watch? It's time to be getting home to that man of yours."_

"_I need to talk to you. Could you possibly fit me in right now?" Brennan asked the prosecutor._

"_Don't you people know how to make appointments? I was looking forward to an evening of reading with Ben and Jerry's."_

"_I am sure that your friends Ben and Jerry can wait a few minutes while I discuss something important with you."_

_This earned her an eye roll from Caroline. "Does this have anything to do with your baby daddy?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Okay, what do you need Cherie, and make it quick."_

"_I need you to do me a favor."_

Booth made his way quietly into the bathroom after carefully extracting himself from Brennan. He showered and put on his boxers before heading out into the kitchen to make breakfast. He made his breakfast of steak and eggs, and walked into the dining room to sit down to eat. As he approached the table something placed on his usual place setting caught his eye.

On the table was a lit candle sitting next to a Bible that had a small velvet box on top of it. Next to the Bible was a folder similar to the one he had handed Brennan with the documents he was filing with Caroline. He opened the file, and saw a note lying on top of various pictures of the two of them, the sonogram, and a few pictures of Parker. All of this on top of a marriage license.

Booth was pretty sure he had lost all feeling to the rest of his body. He couldn't possibly be seeing what he thought he was seeing. Oh, but he did. With his breakfast long forgotten, he picked the note up to read it.

_Seeley,_

_I have been doing some thinking since Hank asked me when I was going to make an honest man out of you. Actually, I have been thinking about it longer than that. I didn't want to rush to a decision, but I really think that his question was the catalyst that really made me focus all of my energy into evaluating my feelings. I have come to a very definitive conclusion after much thought. I am ready when you are. I knew you would want to do the honor of asking me, which is why I didn't ask you. Here is a ring for you. (If I have to wear a ring, then so do you, mister.) I bought it at the little place next to the diner. Ask for a woman named Veronica. Tell her your name and who sent you. She will then show you a few rings that match this one. We can discuss this after you get back from church. I knew you would let me sleep in this morning. (Yes, you are that predictable.) _

_My worst fear is that you aren't ready for this. My father told me on Friday that you wanted to marry me, but you were afraid that I wasn't ready for this. I believe we both are, but we both have fears that are preventing us from taking this step. Let's make this step together, and draw strength from it. Together we can work through our fears._

_I love you,_

_Temperance_

Booth couldn't believe it. His dream was going to come true. He was going to marry the love of his life, and have a real family. He sat frozen for a few minutes just reading the letter over and over.

_I'm ready when you are._

He began to pray. He picked up the Bible, and held it in his hands as he recited the _Prayer for a True Friendship_ followed by the _Prayer of Spouses_, even though they weren't married yet.

"_Jesus, loving companion of Your children, You have extended Your friendship to all. You opened Your arms without discrimination, Offering Your warmth to those seeking comfort. Endow me with the virtue of such a friendship, To know, love and trust all on an equal basis; To share my patronizing without favor-ism, And to be pleasant towards the destitute. Fashion my heart to reflect Your qualities, Those befitting of a cordial association. Jesus, You showed me the way to true friendship: Blessed is Your amazing and warm Person! _

_O Lord, holy Father, omnipotent and eternal God, we give you thanks and we bless your holy name. You created man and woman in your image and blessed their union, so that each would be for the other a help and support. Remember us today. Protect us and grant that our love may be in the image of the devotion and love of Christ for his Church. Grant us a long and fruitful life together, in joy and in peace, so that, through your Son and in the Holy Spirit, our hearts may always rise to you in praise and goods ." _

He touched the small black velvet box, and opened it. Inside was a wedding band. A simple, shiny platinum ring with no ridges, diamond inlays, or ornate etchings. It was an attractively masculine ring. Not only that, but it is something that could easily match her mom's ring. It was _perfect_.

He took the ring out of the box, and slid it over his ring finger. He held his hand out and observed it. _Perfect_ fit. _Perfect_ design. _Perfect_ symbol of commitment. Just _perfect_.

Booth couldn't decide if he wanted to give a rather girly sounding Angela worthy squeal or quietly gather his things to get ready for church. He knew that after a gift like this he would forever be in God's debt.

He decided there was something much better he could do. Oh, he was going to go to church, late or not; he was going to go, even if he had to go to the evening service. He was going to go, but first he _had_ to do something. He didn't need to go to the store to get her a ring. He already had one for her. Her mother's ring. Sure, she would still need a wedding band, but there was no reason he couldn't give her the engagement ring right now.

He walked to the hall closet where he stored a lot of his hockey gear and his jackets. He reached into the pocket of one of the jackets he had hidden the box in, and pulled out the ring Max had given him. He closed his eyes, and placed a kiss on the ring.

He walked into their bedroom still wearing his ring. He found himself back in bed lying next to the love of his life. She was facing him. He leaned over, and place a kiss over each of her eyes before placing his lips on hers to kiss her awake.

She opened her eyes to find his teary eyes staring back at her.

"Bones, will you marry me?" He held the box open facing her so she could see the ring inside.

"Booth, is that…"

"Your mother's ring? Yeah."

"How did you get it?"

"Do you mind answering my question, first? I can't wait much longer to place this ring on your finger."

"Oh!" She laughed, "Yes, Booth. Yes."

Booth pulled her in for the most breath taking kiss of his life. He was kissing his fiancé for the first time. He pulled away from her to place the ring on her finger. He held up his, "I am already wearing mine." Your note said that you wanted to let me ask the actual question, but in your own way you did ask me, Bones. I also say yes. I want to marry you."

They shared another kiss that turned into a slow gentle love making. It was the most languid and loving sex either one of them had ever had. They both took the time to explore and revel in the feel and admiration of one another. There was no urgency, no lust driven actions; it was just _perfectly _blissful and meaningful.

They laid together for quite awhile afterward. Brennan looked at the clock, "Booth, it's 11:30, you missed mass."

"I know. I will go to the evening service. Besides, I have already said two of the most important prayers I have ever uttered in my life this morning."

"Hmm. You prayed for us?"

"Yeah. I did. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," she replied. What was important to him, was also important to her. If he deprived himself of the important issues in his life, he would not be happy, and therefore Brennan would not be happy either. It was scary how everything that affects one could affect the other. They both had their fears about this issue, and they had decided that together they could work through anything as long as they were honest and open with each other about those feelings.

"Booth?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to answer my question yet?" she asked.

"About your mom's ring? Sure. Max gave it to me. He broke into my office Friday morning before I got there. He placed the ring in my drawer, and I found it after he left."

"He told me he paid you a little visit, and what he said to you."

"He did?"

"Yes."

"Was what he said true? Were you just waiting for me to ask?"

"In a way, yes. At the same time, I knew you were waiting for me to be ready, and a part of me knew that you were afraid of my answer. I also know that you didn't want a repeat of what happened between you and Rebecca. So, I had to find a way to let you know that I was ready, and that it wouldn't be like that."

"You can thank Max and Angela for giving me a shove in the right direction," he laughed.

"Angela? You talked to Angela?" She asked. If he talked to Angela, and she talked to Angela, then Angela had a very interesting inside view of the workings of their engagement process.

"Yes. Why?"

"Because I talked to her, too. She went with me Friday afternoon to get the ring."

His eyebrows shot up at that statement. "Okay, well that explains a few things."

"Like what?" she asked.

"The ring you purchased is a near perfect match in style to your mother's ring."

She took his left hand in hers, and studied her ring next to his. "Yes, they are surprisingly _perfect_ together, but what does that have to do with Angela?"

"Well, when I went to talk to Angela on Friday before I picked you up from lunch, I showed her the ring."

"Oh. That does explain a lot. I asked her opinion about rings. Her artistic eye most likely picked up on the style likeness from when you showed her my mother's ring."

"My thoughts exactly," he said with a smile.

"I highly doubt that. It is impossible to think the exact same thoughts as another person."

"Bones, it's an expression."

"If you say so."

"I do."

He wrapped his arms around the woman who was laying on her side with her head pillowed on his chest. He reached down with his lips to kiss the crown of her head as she still held both of their left hands in her gaze admiring the rings.

Booth extricated himself from her after she dozed off a little to let her sleep some more. He went to the bathroom, and then walked back into the room.

Brennan stirred slightly, and woke up to what seemed like an empty bed. She wasn't sure what woke her up. She reached over to the still warm sheets. He had not been gone long. She felt the same thing that she thought woke her up in the first place. She looked down to where it came from. There sat Booth, near her knees, and slightly leaned over her exposed body. He poked her again. He was poking her stomach, and that was what woke her up.

"Booth? What the Hell are you doing? Stop poking me. It's irritating, and I'm trying to sleep. Are you attempting to make me cranky?" She whined.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" he asked.

"Duh. What do you want? Stop annoying me." She growled.

"I just went to pee, and when I came back I noticed you were only half covered with the sheet. I went to cover you up, but then I noticed _this._" He poked her belly again.

"What about it?"

"Look, Bones." He pointed to her naked flesh. He poked it again.

"Booth! Stop it."

"Only when you look."

"Fine." She leaned her head up off of her pillow.

"See? _That _was not there yesterday. I know it was sort of visible before, but _that_ was definitely not there," he noted with a significant amount of awe and admiration.

It was bigger. She had read in one of her books that some women experience an occurrence where it seems like the abdomen grows significantly overnight.

"Ugh. I am going to need new clothes again. I hate shopping."

"I know. Why don't you do shopping online? I do."

"Oh really? Do you have an expanding abdomen to accommodate? Or have you worn the same size since, I don't know, forever? Because I need to try things on to make sure they fit and are comfortable. Not only that, but I am pretty sure Angela might murder me if I leave her out of the shopping experience. She feels this overwhelming need to coax me into buying everything I don't need, but she insists is an absolute necessity. In a way, I find it endearing to go shopping with Angela, even if I don't like the actual act of going shopping."

"Okay, okay. Jeez, Bones. I was just trying to be helpful."

"I know. I'm just starting to feel…fat. I know I'm not, but none of my clothes fit right. I feel bloated. I just feel fat. And you waking me up by poking it did not help that feeling."

"Sorry, Bones. It's just mesmerizing how our baby is growing in there."

"You know, we're at fourteen weeks as of yesterday. I'm in the second trimester now. One of my books says the baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb."

"Our baby can squint? How adorable. Our little jelly bean is already a squint. Squinting her cute little baby face, and sucking her thumb. I am going to ignore the grimace and the frowns, and the peeing because that is just gross." He broke out into the widest grin she had seen since this morning's proposal. "A little baby squint."

"Her? You know, I have noticed something. You have referred to the baby several times as a female using various gender specific pronouns. It could just as easily be a male."

"Nope, it's a girl. Pretty. Sassy. Snarky. Prissy. Stubborn. Beautiful. Amazing. Smart. Adorable. Kind. Thoughtful. All _exactly _like her mother."

"You don't know that. It could be a boy. Amazing. Trustworthy. Irritating. Handsome. Loyal. Romantic. Sneaky. Love-able. Cute. Annoying. Protective. All _exactly _like his father."

"Or _she _could be a _perfect_ mix," he said.

"Or _he_ could be a _perfect _mix," she argued with a crooked smile.

* * *

**Perfect? No? Thoughts? Put them in a review. ;) Love you guys.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	19. Kitchen Counter Copulation

**Hello, my lovelies. **

**Before you read this one, let me just say that Saturday, I was doing some revisions to previous chapters to fix some errors, and I actually replaced chapter 19 with a previous chapter on accident. A few reviewers pointed it out and I quickly fixed it, but if you have not read 19 due to my inability to read numbers correctly, you might want to do so. **

**We have some fluff, some smut, and a little drama in this chapter. Oh, and pancakes. ;) R/R**

* * *

Brennan decided that she wanted Booth to make pancakes for dinner. He roamed the kitchen gathering the ingredients for the batter while Brennan sat on one of the barstools watching him as he walked around in his boxers. He could feel her eyes roaming his body. After the day they had just had, he was sure he was watching her sit there in only his Grateful Dead t-shirt and panties, enjoying the view just as much as she was watching him. Her hair was delightfully messed up from their day in bed worshipping each other's bodies. He kept glancing at the ring on her finger, and she kept glancing at the ring on his.

He was mixing the ingredients together in a bowl when he spoke, "You know, people are going to notice the rings. When should we tell them?"

"Well, since she knew what both of our thoughts were, Angela will most likely know. Even if she hadn't talked to either one of us, she just has this way of knowing things."

"You're probably right. It wouldn't surprise me if she has had an engagement party planned since Friday." He chuckled at the thought. "I think that we should just show up to work with our rings on and let people figure it out for themselves." He got out a pan and placed it on a burner to heat up.

"Yeah, that plan sounds satisfactory. I don't really want to make a big deal out of this. I mean, it is a big deal, but I just…things have a tendency to turn into a three-ring carnival sometimes."

"Circus. Things turn into a three-ring circus, and yeah, they do. I don't blame you for wanting to keep this low key."

"If I remember right, and I do, you were the one that made a big deal out of our relationship and pregnancy right in the middle of the forensic platform causing a scene."

"Sorry, call it marking my metaphorical territory I guess. I just got a little bit alpha. This can be different; it doesn't have to be like that."

"Okay, thank you. Oh, I just thought of something."

He started scooping the batter onto the pan. "What?"

She waited for him to look up at her. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Bones." He flashed a big grin to her. "So, have you thought about when you want to go on vacation?"

"Not really. I guess it would be good to go before I start feeling huge and horrible, but with the custody battle over Parker I don't want the vacation to get in the way of that." Brennan said with concern that their time away from home could interfere with chances of getting custody of Parker.

"We don't have to take the whole week off. How about we finish the case this week, and then go on vacation this weekend? Rebecca and Brent are taking Parker to the beach, so it won't be an issue. Then, we can come home and spend the rest of our week relaxing here."

"That sounds satisfactory."

He flipped the pancakes to the other side to let them finish cooking.

"Are they done, yet?" she whined. "Your child is going to eat me alive from the inside out if you don't hurry!"

"Almost. Take a chill pill, will ya? Jeez. Who knew Temperance Brennan was prone to such hyperbole?"

"I can't help it; our jelly bean is quite ravenous at the moment."

"Do you want syrup?" he asked as he got plates out of the cabinet.

"Yes. Our baby wants syrup. You know, I have never had breakfast for dinner before."

"You haven't?" he asked incredulously. "Well, it is a good thing that this baby is a Booth, she'll fix you up right. She wants breakfast at dinner, next thing you know she will want ice cream for breakfast, candy before bedtime and pie anytime she can get it."

"The baby could be a boy, and I am not going to eat pie!"

"You say that now." He winked at her.

He flipped the pancakes into the air and caught them on the plate, showing off his alpha skills to his alpha mate. He grabbed the syrup from the pantry and sat on the barstool next to her. "Bon Appétit! Bones."

She poured what seemed like half a bottle of syrup on her pancakes. She cut a bite and brought the fork to her lips. As the food entered her mouth, she made one of the cutest humming noises he had ever heard from her.

_Damn it, Bones! Eating pancakes should not sound that hot._ _Saint Joseph, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint John..._

"Booth, you're staring at me again. Maybe you should eat before your pancakes get cold."

"I can't help it, Bones. I'm just mesmerized by my hot pregnant fiancé eating pancakes, and making cute little kitten noises as she eats."

"You're making me feel self-conscious. Stop watching me eat."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to. You're just…hot."

"You're aroused," she finally concluded. "You are turned on by my eating?"

"Honestly, yes. It's not just watching you though. The noises you were making were making were setting me on fire."

"Oh really?" She smirked. She took another bite of her pancakes, slowly taking it into her mouth. "Mmmm." She chewed her bite and swallowed, then proceeded to slowly lick her lips, knowing that Booth still had his eyes glued to her.

"Bones…" She had managed to make him impossibly harder with her actions.

He moved his plate of pancakes out of the way, and then stood to lift her off of her stool.

"Booth, put me down!"

"Okay," he set her on top of the counter. He took his shirt off of her. "Lay down here on the counter."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

She did as he asked, and he reached to her hips and traced the waistband of her panties. He hooked a finger into them and tapped her hips indicating for her to lift up so he could slide them down her legs. So, there she was lying naked on the kitchen counter. Booth took his uneaten pancakes and crumbed them up on top of her chest and abdomen. He then poured syrup over her and the crumbled pancake mess.

"If you are going to enjoy pancakes as much as you just sounded like you did, then, damn it, so am I!" He let a hungry feral growl rise from his throat as he leaned down to lick some syrup off of her tummy and taking a bite of the pancakes.

It was a good thing he was already shirtless because he had leaned over her and purposely rubbed his bare skin with her sticky flesh as he finished his dinner.

He dipped his tongue into her bellybutton to lap up the pool of syrup that had gathered there, and Brennan let out a giggle at the sensation. He trailed up her stomach and up her chest with his hot sticky mouth, and when he reached her jaw line she dipped her head down to capture his sticky lips with hers.

He shed his boxers. He climbed up on top of her and straddled her. He positioned himself at her entrance, and as his hands and mouth roamed her upper body spreading a trail of sticky syrup everywhere he rocked his hips down sliding gently into her hot core. She gasped at the feel of him stretching and filling her perfectly with his skin teasing the hormonally hypersensitive nerve endings in her clit.

He grunted and smiled against her chest as he started rocking his hips back and forth grinding deliciously into her. Booth trailed kisses from her chest to her neck and behind her ear before ending up at her lips once more. Her hot sticky hands smeared syrup all over him as they explored and roamed over the hard planes of his chiseled physique.

She bit down on his lower lip bringing him that much closer to the edge of carnal bliss. He sped up his movements, and she writhed beneath him helping to intensify the feeling. They were both so close to losing control. So close to breaking the laws of physics. Their screams of ecstasy filled the apartment as they shattered in each other's arms.

He shifted himself so he wouldn't crush her, and laid leaning against her body, stroking his hands up and down her sticky tummy. He leaned down and pressed his open lips to hers.

"Best." Kiss. "Pancakes." Kiss. "Ever." He continued to kiss her. "I will never be able…to eat pancakes without having a raging hard-on."

"Booth, I'm all sticky."

"I know, me too, baby. Let's go get in the shower to get cleaned up."

He helped her sit up on the counter, and held her by the waist as she hopped down, steadying her so she wouldn't fall.

Brennan led Booth back to the master bathroom sticky hand in sticky hand. Once they reached their destination, Brennan released her grasp from his, and reached into the shower to turn on the water.

Brennan ran her lips and tongue over his pectoral muscles, once again tasting their dinner off of his skin. "These were the best pancakes, ever. Mmmm"

"We should probably get in and get started before all of the hot water runs out."

"You know damn well it's going to run out anyway. It always does." She muttered, reluctantly pulling herself away from her entrée a la Booth.

They both stepped into the shower. Booth positioned Brennan under the spray for a few seconds before removing the showerhead and holding it in his hand to guide the stream of water to better clean her up. Once most of the sticky was washed away, he grabbed her ivory soap and lathered her up. He rubbed gentle circles over her skin with one of her natural bath sponges. He, once again, took the showerhead into his hands to rinse the soap from her now clean skin.

He handed the showerhead to Brennan, and she proceeded to wash away his pancake remnants. She grabbed his Old Spice body wash, and poured some over his washcloth. She lathered him up and eventually gave up on the washcloth. She tossed it to the floor of the shower, opting to use her hands to rub over his soapy body. She rinsed his body clean of all soap.

He shut off the water. He stepped out of the shower to grab her towel, and he wrapped it around her, gently drying her off. She grabbed his towel, and dried him off in return. He shook the water out of his hair and onto her. She let out a giggle and gently slapped his arm before dropping her towel to the floor to walk into their bedroom as his eyes watched her glorious ass saunter away from him.

He stared for a second, and then got his own ass into gear and followed her. He caught her by the hand and turned her into him. "Mmm, Bones, I love you so much." He leaned in and caught her lips with his. She responded by deepening the kiss immediately and by grabbing his hips and pulling him into her, causing his throbbing erection to grind in a delightfully painful pleasure against her abdomen.

"I love you, too. Now, get inside me _now_. I need you, Booth," she pleaded.

"Have a little patience, Temperance. I am still recovering from our kitchen counter copulation."

Just as he was positioned, a very determined person started ring the doorbell repeatedly.

With a groan, Booth threw on some clean boxers.

"I better answer that; it doesn't sound like they are going away anytime soon."

She put on her robe, and followed him out to the living room.

Booth looked through the peephole.

Rebecca and Parker. _Aren't they supposed to be off visiting her dying father during MY weekend?_ He thought to himself.

He opened the door and Parker ran straight into Booth and clung to his legs.

"Dad!" The boy exclaimed.

"Hey, buddy." He moved aside to let Rebecca into the room so he could shut the door. "Rebecca, it isn't that I am not happy to see Parker, but aren't you supposed to…"

She broke into tears causing him to trail off. Parker released his father, and walked over the Brennan and clung to her while his father took Rebecca into his arms for a comforting hug. "Becks, what's the matter?"

"It was a lie," she sobbed. "The whole story about going to see my father. The trip to the beach next weekend. I lied."

Booth led her into the living room to sit on the couch. "Why?"

"Parker, could you go to your room for a little while. I will come get you when I need to."

"Sure, mom," the boy nodded and ran into his new bedroom.

"Seeley, I lied because if I didn't…" she started crying again. Brennan walked over and sat on the other side of her, and put her hands on her shoulder in support to let her know that she could talk to them about whatever the issue was. As soon as Brennan's hand touched her shoulder, Booth saw the wince of pain shoot through Rebecca's face. Brennan felt the woman's shoulder tense beneath her touch, and immediately drew her hand back. Rebecca looked down and began again. "He doesn't hit me when Parker is around."

"Brent hits you?" She nodded. "I'll kill him," he murmured darkly. "Has he ever touched Parker?" he asked in a low tone of voice that was clearly threatening and held a certain warning to it.

"Not that I am aware. I just thought that if I lied to you to keep Parker with me, then he wouldn't hit me. I was wrong, Seeley. Parker was home this time; I am not sure if he heard or saw anything, but I am pretty sure he knows something isn't right."

"You're damn right it isn't right. Shit, Rebecca! How long has this been going on?" Booth asked with genuine concern and all of his previous anger toward her completely gone. Sure, he didn't like that she lied to him, but she felt like in a way she was protecting herself. And he definitely didn't like that she was using their son as a figurative human shield.

"It only started recently. A few weeks; I thought that maybe he was just having a hard time, and that it would pass. It hasn't, and it is just getting worse."

"How could you keep our son in that kind of environment, and around a man like _that_, like my father? Rebecca, you _know_ my past. I don't want my son to know that kind of pain. I don't want him to know that kind of person exists."

"That's actually why I am here. I need you to take him. I can't keep him there with me knowing that Brent is getting worse. I…"

Brennan finally found her voice after she had time to process all that she had heard. "You can't go back. If you won't allow your son to be there with Brent, why would you allow yourself to be there with him? That makes no sense at all."

"Bones has a point, you cannot go back there."

"But it is my house, with my belongings, and Parker's, too. I don't have anywhere else to go." Rebecca cried.

"Is he home now? Does he know where you are?" Booth asked.

"No, he is not home, and he doesn't know where I am. I left with Parker after he left to go to the bar for the night. I have one of his bags packed in the car; I didn't bring much since I knew he had some stuff here."

"Okay, here is what I am going to do. I am going to call this in," she started to protest, but he cut her off quickly, "Bones is going to take pictures of any injuries you may have. We are going to send them to Angela, our forensic artist. She will be able to analyze the bruising patterns to prove methods of abuse. She may be able to detect hand patterns or anything else that he may have used on you to prove it wasn't accidental. I am going to call Sweets and Hodgins, and we are going to go over to your house and change the pass code to the security system and all of the locks. We are also going to move all of his shit out into the street or the garbage. He is now a homeless motherfu…"

"Can I come out now?" Parker's voice rang out through the apartment. "I have to go to the bathroom!" his voice had a somewhat urgent whine to it."

"Sure, Bub, but when you are done you need to go back to your room; we aren't through talking yet." He turned back to Brennan and Rebecca. "I know he is ten, and he isn't going to like this one bit, but when he is getting ready to take a shower, I want you both to check his body for anything suspicious. Maybe talk to him; find some way to determine what he knows or what he has seen. Can you do that?"

Both women nodded. Booth waited until Parker returned to his room before speaking again.

"Rebecca, I must apologize to you. After I got off the phone with you a few days ago, I went straight to Caroline to get papers drawn up so that I could file for custody of Parker. Now, before you say anything, let me just say that we haven't actually filed the papers yet. We had a meeting with Caroline yesterday to discuss my rights and options, but seeing as it is the weekend, we couldn't file until tomorrow. I was just so pissed off thinking that you were just being that way because I have no legal rights and you can do whatever you want. I just…I'm sorry. I should have known better; you have not been hostile towards me in a long time. Something in my gut was telling me something wasn't right. I'm just so sorry that you are going though this."

"Do it."

"Excuse me?" Booth practically choked.

"File for custody. If Brent does come back…"

"He won't be back…"

"If he does come back, Parker cannot be there. He will come after me. If you have custody, he cannot get to Parker."

"I don't want a custody battle. I was just doing that as a last resort for the best interest of my family."

"What if we come to an agreement, and settle with you having custody, but also allowing me visitation rights? I just cannot give him the opportunity to have access to our son."

"Okay, Rebecca, here is what I hear you saying. You are afraid that Brent is going to come back. You are worried that Parker would be in danger, but what about yourself?" Booth asked.

"I don't know. Parker is my priority."

Booth let out a heavy sigh. "Let's go for broke here. We need to rack up as many charges against Brent as we possibly can. Then, we can talk more about custody and other shit later with Caroline. First things first, let's put the asshole away. I am going to make those calls now." He walked back into the bedroom to locate his phone to make the calls. This was going to be a long night, and there went his plans to make up for the fact that he skipped out on church this morning.

Brennan stood to walk to the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Yes, please." Rebecca stood to help herself so as not to impose too much.

The two women walked into the kitchen. Brennan froze immediately upon seeing the sticky mess of pancake crumbs and syrup spread everywhere all over her counter. Rebecca didn't notice her stop in her tracks and bumped into Brennan. When she looked up to see why Brennan stopped, her gaze tracked over to the mess her eyes widened at the sight of clearly sticky hand prints, and prints of other various parts of the anatomy on the counter and the barstools.

For the first time, she seemed to notice the state of undress at which the two had answered the door in. "Oh my God! I am so sorry for interrupting."

"No, it's fine. We…were done with the pancakes, and had just gotten out of the shower. We just didn't have time to clean up the mess, yet," Brennan said with a slight pink on her features.

"Oh, you don't have to explain anything personal to me. I don't really need to know. But if I may just say one thing…"

"Sure."

"Maybe I could help you clean this mess up really quickly? My ten year old son is in the other room, and he might come in here wanting a snack."

"You make a very valid point. I will get us some sponges. You don't mind? I understand if this makes you uncomfortable."

"No, helping you is the least I could do after I lied to Seeley. Besides, it will be much easier and faster with more than one person, and it certainly is somewhat amusing," she said with a gleam in her eye. "Seeley was never this…uh…outgoing with me." She laughed.

Brennan went to hand Rebecca a sponge, and as she did so, the light caught on her ring and Rebecca's eyes took to it immediately.

She grabbed the anthropologist's left hand, and brought it within inches of her face to get a good look at the ring adorning her finger. "When did this happen?"

"He proposed this morning." Brennan beamed. She told her side of how things came to be with the rings and the note, and Rebecca listened, genuinely happy for Seeley and Temperance. At least some good was happening in someone's life, and she was on the track to getting hers back as well.

* * *

**I know this isn't exactly how you probably would have seen the story go. Some of you were quite hostile toward Rebecca in the reviews. I did hint at the fact that Booth felt that something wasn't right, so now it is out. Now, the question is: did he abuse Parker? Stick with me to find out. **

**Review**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	20. No Time for Squeeing

**I wanted to get one more chapter out before the end of my day off, and I made it with room to spare. Happy Columbus Day! Whoohooo!**

**I am glad the last chapter had such a positive response. I was nervous about how people would take to the situation with Rebecca showing up. **

**This chapter covers a lot. This chapter gets a little dark, but remember that it is serving to make these characters stronger, not break them down.**

**This one isn't as dialog heavy as some of my chapters for the sake of not taking 20,000 words to resolve these issues. Some of the dialog could become redundant after awhile as different characters talk about the events which is another reason I went with a more passive description of the events. R/R**

* * *

Booth had called in the domestic abuse to the cops; they had showed up to the apartment to question Rebecca, and insisted that they look over Rebecca's house for more evidence, things like blood splatters, broken furniture, holes or dents in walls or doors, and other things that could indicate violence had occurred.

A very inebriated and belligerent Brent showed up at the house while the cops were still there, and by that time they had gathered enough evidence to arrest him for domestic assault. On top of that he resisted arrest and assaulted Booth, who had to jump in to help arrest him since the locals were doing such a _wonderful_ job of apprehending him. This added more charges to his rap sheet. Booth had to restrain himself to keep from going ape-shit on Brent. He had a family to think about. He had just agreed to take Parker in on top of his very new promise to Brennan and their baby. So, he could not afford to lose any control, but that didn't stop him from putting the cuffs on slightly more violently than necessary and making sure they were on extra tight.

They had the pictures that had already been examined by Angela, who gave a definitive answer that, yes; there were hand marks present as well as what appeared to be boot marks around the rib and abdomen area. Brennan suggested that tomorrow morning she should get x-rays done to check for broken ribs. There were also giant bruises on her shoulders apparently from being slammed into the wall multiple times. Hodgins did find traces of blood spatters on a few walls, as well as on the floor that had all been cleaned up.

They also did a once over of Parker's room. Booth went numb with what they found. There was, indeed, a dent in the wall that looked to be about the height of Parker's head, and there were traces of saliva and blood spatters present likely from Parker's mouth as he hit the wall. Booth felt physically ill. His father had abused him. When things would get bad, he would either take beatings in his brother's place or hide in his closet when things were particularly bad between his mom and his dad. Booth walked over to his son's closet knowing what he would find. He opened the door, and damn it, he was right. At the base of the closet in the corner sat a few pillows, a flashlight, an mp3 player with headphones, a Nintendo DS, his baseball bat within reach, a couple of bottles of water, and a few packages of crackers. It was set up to wait out whatever tizzy Brent had worked himself into. Booth had almost the same set-up in his closet as a young boy. Once he saw what was inside, he called Sweets over. Sweets' analysis of the items present confirmed what Booth already knew.

Booth ran outside, he ran over to a tree and leaned heavily against it. After a few seconds of catching his breath and trying to hold it back, that unmistakable feeling of stomach acid rising in his throat caused him to violently throw up.

Once Booth had a better control over his emotional state and his stomach contents, his mind drifted to the girls and what they were finding.

**B&B**

The mess had been cleaned up, and the hour was late. Much later than appropriate for ten year old boys to still be awake, but the three women were trying their hardest to convince the boy to let them examine his body. Just the fact that he wouldn't let them, worried both of them. It was not a good sign.

Angela showed up after she had examined the photos her friends sent her. She couldn't sit idle at home while her husband was off helping at Rebecca's house. She decided that she could at least go help with Parker if they needed it. They had mentioned that they were going to try to examine him to make sure he wasn't touched.

Angela had of course noticed the ring on her friend's finger, but said nothing. This was not the time for squeeing and dancing happy dances over her engagement. Angela will have her say once things calm down a bit, but now was not appropriate.

Finally, the women gave up and retreated to the living room to discuss how they were going to get him to show them his body. Rebecca suggested that maybe it would be less intimidating to him if they promised him that only one of them would be present, and he could chose who it was.

After he was out of his bath and brushed his teeth, Rebecca went to talk to him. She got him to agree to only one of them being present. He wanted Brennan to look at him. This hurt Rebecca a little, but she quickly got over it as she thought about how much she didn't want to see the injuries, if there were any and the fact that she was glad he finally agreed to letting someone look at him.

Brennan went into Parker's room and he shut the door.

"Please don't be mad, Dr. Bones," the boy cried.

"Aw, Parker, why would I be mad?" Brennan asked, confused as to why Parker would think anyone would be mad at him.

"For not saying anything."

"It's okay, now. We know now and can help you and your mom. Just let me see."

The boy reached down and pulled his long sleeved sleep shirt off of his body, and the bruising revealed made Brennan want to go bat-shit crazy on Brent's ass. She didn't let her expressions show her thoughts. She didn't want to frighten an already worked up Parker.

"Can I ask why you didn't say anything? We aren't mad, we just need to know."

"He said he would make it worse next time."

"Do you mind if I take pictures? I need to take them for the police. You can either let me do it, or they may have some stranger come do it."

"I want you to do it."

"Okay, baby. I know this is uncomfortable for you, but I need you to take off you pajama pants, too. You can keep your underwear on; I just need to get a good clear view of all of the injuries."

"Okay." The boy shed his pants. Thankfully, though he had some bruising there, his legs weren't as bad looking as his torso and arms were.

"Parker, I have another very personal and uncomfortable question to ask you. Again, I can ask and you can talk to me, or the police could bring in a stranger to ask it." She said as she snapped a few close ups of bruises and then zoomed out for a wider view.

He took in a shuddering breath. "Ask me."

She paused what she was doing to concentrate on him as she asked her next question. "Did Brent ever touch you in ways that made you uncomfortable? Did he…did he ever touch your most private body parts?"

"No. He never did anything like that. He would just hit or kick me. Sometimes, mom would need to go out for work dinners or with her friends. She would leave me with him. Sometimes, he wasn't bad. Others, he would leave me at home and go to the bar. He would come home stammering and smelling bad. That was when it was the worst."

The tension that was plaguing her body released and she let out a breath of air. She snapped a few more pictures before she was done.

"I'm done. You can put your clothes on now. It's time for bed. I will send your mom in to tuck you in." She turned to walk out of the room, but was stopped by Parker's voice.

"You can tuck me in, Dr. Bones. Mom does it all of the time. She was upset earlier, and I don't want to bother her."

"It's sweet of you to think of your mother, but I will send her in anyway. How about we both tuck you in, and when your father comes home, I will send him in here, too. Okay?"

The boy nodded his approval.

She walked back over, and made sure his covers were nice and tight. She told him they were all there for him if he needed to talk about anything going on, and that they were not mad at him, and he had done nothing wrong. She kissed his cheek and his forehead, and walked out of the room to get Rebecca.

Brennan uploaded the new pictures to her laptop for Angela to get a good view of them for analysis.

Brennan's phone rang while she was in with Parker, and Angela answered the call after seeing that it was Booth. He had told her about everything they had found. He also told her that _Captain Fanfuckingtastic_ had been arrested, and that resisting arrest and assaulting a federal officer were going to be added to his charges. Angela told him that they were having a hard time getting Parker to cooperate, which Booth immediately knew why because of what he had found in Parker's room. She told him that he finally agreed to let Brennan see him.

Booth told Angela that he would be home soon; they were just changing the last of the locks. He asked her to ask Rebecca if she had a change of clothes with her. It was late, and there was no sense in her coming home by herself at this hour. She didn't, so Booth grabbed her some clothes, and made his way home with Sweets and Hodgins in tow.

Once there, Sweets let Rebecca know that if she needed to talk to someone, or if Parker needed to talk to someone that he could have it arranged for them to do so. He left his card with her, and made his way home.

Hodgins took Angela home and left the other three adults to talk.

Booth went to Parker's room to kiss his son goodnight. He walked in and the boy was asleep; he didn't want to wake him. He had been through enough. Booth knelt on the floor next to the bed. He leaned over and pressed his lips to Parker's forehead. He took his rosary beads that he had grabbed out of his room before heading in here, and he joined his hand with his sleeping son's hand.

"_Assist us, Oh Lord our God;  
and defend us evermore by the might of Thy holy Cross,  
in whose honor Thou makest us to rejoice.  
Through Christ our Lord._

_Amen."_

**B&B**

They sat around discussing what they all found and the charges that were being filed against Brent, and Booth made the call to the police to add another charge: on child abuse in two categories, physical and neglect. Physical for obvious reasons, and neglect for the fact that he would leave Parker alone for extended periods of time. He also sent in the photos Brennan had taken of Parker for evidence.

They didn't stay up to talk for very long. They were all drained and had work in the morning, as well as getting Parker to school on time. Rebecca chose to sleep in Parker's bed with him. It was big enough to accommodate him plus her petite frame.

Brennan and Booth sought comfort and warmth from each other's arms that night with Booth spooning Brennan with his arm draped protectively around her abdomen. They were snuggled as close together as they could get.

He waited for her to fall asleep before whispering a prayer of guidance.

"_Father in Heaven,  
You made me Your child  
and called me to walk in the Light of Christ.  
Free me from darkness  
and keep me in the Light of Your Truth.  
The Light of Jesus has scattered  
the darkness of hatred and sin.  
Called to that Light,  
I ask for Your guidance.  
Form my life in Your Truth,  
my heart in Your Love.  
Through the Holy Eucharist,  
give me the power of Your Grace  
that I may walk in the Light of Jesus  
and serve Him faithfully._

_Amen."_

**B&B**

The next morning Booth dropped off a very exhausted Brennan at the Jeffersonian. Booth needed to meet Rebecca at Caroline's office to discuss the events of the previous day.

Booth and Rebecca had Caroline draw up papers dictating that Booth would have custody of Parker with unlimited visitation with his mother. Brent was going to be in jail for awhile, but knowing how the parole system works, they all knew it would just be a matter of time before he was out. This was their safest option. The papers were filed, and Rebecca left Booth at the Hoover to go get x-rays taken as Brennan had suggested before going to her own job as a drone attorney for one of the big firms in town. She did, indeed, have two fractured ribs. The report was sent in to the police for more evidence.

Angela and Hodgins didn't look much better than Brennan did. Cam walked up onto the platform and over to the _lively_ looking bunch of people.

"Wow, that must have been some party that I wasn't invited to." She said.

"Trust me Cam, there was no party." Brennan said on a sigh. "Well, there was a private party going on before…"

"Oh, sweetie! I _knew_ there must have been something going on yesterday before all of this happened. I saw the rock on your finger last night, and I could practically smell the sex in the air." Angela beamed, looking the brightest she had all morning.

"Rock? You mean an engagement ring?" Cam walked over to her star employee and took her hand and shucked the glove off of it. "Oh my God! He didn't."

"He did, although I had to give him a shove in the right direction," Angela bragged.

"Yeah, my father helped with the shoving. And Angela, here, is quite sneaky. She had talked to both of us and knew that we were both thinking about marriage. In fact, Booth showed her the ring Friday morning, and then went shopping with me Friday night to purchase Booth's ring. She helped me pick one that is practically a perfect match for my mother's ring. Neither one of us had any clue that the other was thinking about the same thing."

"Really? Wow. That's so wonderful. Congratulations, Dr. Brennan." She hugged her friend, and when she pulled back her face was more serious. "You guys mentioned something happened last night? It must be serious for you all to look no better than some of the remains that come in here."

The three who were present at last night's events worked together to give the details of the events that had occurred and kept them awake until really late last night, or should they have said early this morning. Either way, no one got much sleep.

Cam was surprised by the information. They showed the pictures to Cam. Her heart broke for Parker and his mother, and also for Seeley. She, too, was aware of his childhood horrors even though he rarely brought it up or talked about it with anyone. She offered to be an additional expert witness if they needed her. As a pathologist and a former coroner, she was also qualified to read the marks left on the flesh.

She got about halfway through the pictures before she decided she could see any more of them right now. It made her ill knowing that these were people she knew and cared about. She also had work to get done. She encouraged her tired employees to get as much work done on the Burley case as possible. She told Brennan that if she needed to leave early to go rest, she would be fine with it, and she extended the offer to Jack and Angela, too. They looked like they could all use the rest. None of them took it. They all worked though until six that evening.

On Booth's end, he discovered that the victim had been stationed in Afghanistan, and was recently released after being captured and held as a bargaining chip. She was released and immediately sent to Germany for medical care. Once she left the base in Germany, she came home to the States, and got herself reassigned to another story. She was to find out as much information as possible about the gravedigger and the upcoming trial to be published in a court journal as well as a few other places. The coverage of this trial was expected to be a huge deal considering the number of people involved, including the three high profile victims involved in the case. Hannah Burley was assigned to work the story with a partner, Thomas Roberts.

Roberts was a new and upcoming journalist who showed great promise in the field. He worked part time as a lifeguard at one of the local country clubs.

Booth brought the kid in for questioning, and the alibi he gave didn't exactly cover the entire window of the time-frame Hodgins had given Booth for the estimated time of death, and as far as anyone knew, Roberts was the last person to have seen her alive.

Before the day was over Hodgins had called Booth to let him know that Cam had run a tox screen on what little flesh was left for her to work with. She had found high levels of lithium hypochlorite. Interestingly enough, he also found particulates of the same powdered substance in the victim's hair and clothes. He explained to Booth that it is a chemical used to keep public swimming pools clean, and it can be very lethal if ingested. Booth had what he needed. The kid was still in the building talking to his lawyer.

They took him back into the interrogation room, and all Booth said was, "lithium hypochlorite," and the kid broke. He confessed right then and there saying that he did not want a partner in covering the gravedigger trial. He wanted full credit for his work. He had read about the journalist who was supposed to aid him, and he knew that she had the bigger name in the field and would receive most of the credit. Again, it was one of the lamest excuses for anyone to get murdered Booth had ever heard, but he really wasn't surprised by the absurdity of the whole thing. Some people just had really fucked up priorities.

* * *

**Review. **

**So, the Burley case is wrapped up. I decided not to drag it out too much. I just don't feel that I am very good at bringing elaborate cases into stories. Besides, we need to move on to the feel good parts of the story. **

**We should also now be seeing more of Parker in the story, which should bring out an interesting dynamic between Brennan and Parker. I*heart* them together!**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	21. Going Commando

**Here we will see a little bit more of Angela and Cam. R/R**

* * *

On Tuesday, the work day was considerably lighter for the whole team. Brennan and Angela were sitting in Brennan's office on her couch drinking tea and just relaxing. Brennan kept shifting in her seat.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little uncomfortable." Brennan replied. There were a few moments of silence. Then, she had a brilliant idea. She reached down and raised her blouse up slightly and then moved her hands to her dress pants to unfasten the button and slide the zipper down just a little exposing the skin on her stomach. She sighed in relief.

"Bren, I think it is time to go shopping." Angela laughed after seeing her friend's slightly expanded abdomen when she lifted her blouse to relieve the pressure of her pants.

"Yes, I believe that would be a good idea."

"What would be a good idea?" Hodgins asked as he walked into the office with his nose in a file. He looked up, "Uh, whoa." He turned to face the wall quickly. "Uh, I—uh…okay! I will come back—later." He quickly made his way to exit the office. Brennan stopped him.

"No! Stay, please." She grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch, and placed it over her. "Look, you can't see anything now. I put a blanket over myself."

He timidly turned back and took a seat in one of the chairs facing the two ladies on the couch. "Sorry about that Dr. B., I should have knocked first."

"No, it's fine, I should have thought to cover myself up after I exposed my abdomen to release the constraints of the waistband on my pants."

"Well, I still shouldn't have reacted like a blubbering idiot. I just didn't think it would be appropriate for me to stand there and ogle my best friend's pregnant fiancé's exposed belly while my wife watched the event unfold in amusement." Hodgins said as he brought his hand up to stroke his brow line.

"Bren and I were just talking about the fact that it is time for her to go shopping for some better fitting clothes. Then, maybe she wouldn't have to put on anymore peepshows." She joked.

"What? It isn't like I was exposing my breasts to everyone." Brennan said not catching the joke, she was slightly frustrated because she was just trying to make herself comfortable. Surely, her friends would understand that concept.

"I know, but Bren, you are hot. Okay? Smokin' hot, and if just that little bit of flesh you had exposed put my husband under such a spell, then just think what kind of distraction it could cause one of your young interns had they walked in instead of Jack."

"She has a point, Dr. B. You know how useless your interns can be when they are distracted."

"That is very accurate." She conceded. "Ange?"

"Hmm?"

"Could we go shopping tonight? These pants are growing quite uncomfortable, and—"

"And what, Sweetie?"

Brennan shot her glance over towards Hodgins, and then back to Angela silently telling her that this was for girls' ears only.

"Scram, Jack. It's time for girl talk." Angela said, shooing her husband out of the office. She closed the door after he was out of the room. "And what, Bren?"

"Well, it isn't just pants I need. I need everything. My breasts are huge and they feel like they are being squeezed to death as if they weren't tender enough already. And this morning I couldn't find any panties that weren't tighter than the pants. Booth suggested I go _commando_, whatever that means." She furrowed her brow in confusion and frustration.

"Sweetie, he meant just don't wear any panties."

Her eyebrows rose slightly, and her cheeks pink a little. "Oh. Well then, I guess I _am_ going _commando_."

"Dr. Brennan! This conversation does not exactly sound appropriate for the workplace." Cam shook her head.

The two ladies hadn't heard the office door open.

"Well, maybe you could have knocked on the door since it was closed for privacy, Dr. Saroyan." Brennan said as she stood, not thinking about her shirt being slightly raised up with her pants unbuttoned and unzipped, leaving her slightly swollen belly exposed. She made no move to button her pants, but she did at least pull her blouse down to try to cover herself up as she walked around her desk to her computer chair.

"I'm sorry. I should have knocked. So—uh, I take it you are experiencing some slight discomfort with your clothes today?" Cam asked with an apologetic and friendly tone as she sort of pointed in the direction of Brennan's clothes.

"Yes, it seems that I have finally moved from that stage of my normal clothing being slightly snug to very constricting. I was having trouble finding panties this morning and Booth suggested—"

Cam held up a hand to stop her. "I don't need to know this. I heard enough when I walked in to deduce what he told you to do."

"I'm taking Brennan shopping when we leave here. Would you want to join us?" Angela asked.

"I would love to. Do you mind if I join you, Dr. Brennan?" Cam asked, knowing that since Angela had just impulsively asked her to join them that Brennan might not be okay with her boss tagging along.

"I think I would enjoy it if you came with us, Cam." Brennan smiled at her boss. Brennan had not always been fond of her boss, but she had eased up on her _dictator_ mentality. Brennan found that she actually had a great respect for Cam and had become much closer to her than she ever expected to get. Brennan wasn't sure, but she suspected it had something to do with taking in Michelle.

"Great!" She beamed. "I will just go give Michelle a call to let her know that she will be on her own for dinner." She left the office to go make the call.

"I should probably call Booth, as well, so he knows that he is going to need to cook dinner for Parker and himself." Brennan told her friend. Angela agreed that it would be a good idea, and then left the office to go find her husband.

**B&B**

The women all left the Jeffersonian in their separate cars after they agreed to meet at Booth and Brennan's apartment. Brennan decided that she needed to change clothes before leaving. There was no way she was going to be able to shop comfortably in the clothes she had on for work. She couldn't very well walk around in public with the way she had her pants unfastened in her office.

The others agreed that they would also like to go home and change into more comfortable clothes in which to go shopping. Brennan settled on the on a pair of her yoga pants and one of her tank tops. She was also grateful for the reprieve her feet were getting. By changing into much more casual clothing, she could wear more comfortable footwear opposed to what she wore on her feet earlier.

She had a few minutes before her friends would get to the apartment, so she sat down with Parker and they discussed how his day went at school today.

She let him know that it would be just him and his dad tonight for dinner. Even she could see that it saddened him that she wouldn't be eating with them. She reassured him that she would be home as soon as she could.

When Angela and Cam arrived, she kissed Booth and Parker bye, and told Parker to enjoy his time alone with his dad.

The ladies' first stop was to get dinner for themselves, upon Brennan's insistence. They decided that it would be easiest to grab some pizza at a parlor in the mall where they were shopping. Cam and Angela ate fairly modestly; while Brennan had put away more pizza and some cheesy breadsticks than the other two had ever seen.

"Dr. Brennan, I know there won't be any problem concerning paternity of that child. It is most definitely a Booth." Cam said thinking of how she knew the Booth boys were highly skilled at food consumption, and of course, Brennan missed the point she was trying to make.

"Well, of course Booth is the father; I haven't slept with anyone else, and even before we got together I had not been with anyone else for almost a year and a half."

"I wasn't questioning your fidelity. I was just trying to say that judging by the amount of food you just ate, Booth has to be the father. That kid eats like a Booth." She said quickly, trying to defuse the hot headed pregnant anthropologist before there was any further misunderstanding.

"That child is most definitely another Booth boy." Angela said with an air of conclusiveness.

"Ugh, you are doing the same thing that Booth is doing. He thinks it's a girl and refused to accept that it could be a boy. Now, you are saying it's a boy. Ange, it could just as easily be a girl. It does not do any good to speculate one way or the other. What does it accomplish?"

"Sweetie, it is just supposed to be fun to make guesses. It doesn't really serve a purpose. Cam, what do you think the baby is?" Angela asked.

"Oh, goodness, I don't know. I think maybe it's a girl—" She looked at Brennan's face change in disapproval of the guessing and quickly added, "or it could be a boy—" She received another look that screamed _don't mock me_. "Well, I'm usually wrong when I guess at these types of things, so I'm actually just going to say that it will definitely be a small human. Yep, that's my final answer."

Angela looked to Brennan incredulously. "Seriously, Bren, lighten up. Have fun. What does your gut tell you it is?"

"My gut doesn't tell me anything, my brain does. Usually, I can trust and respect what Booth's gut is telling him, but then again I can also trust Angela's. In this case, both of you are guessing differently, which means one of you is obviously wrong. How am I supposed to make a guess knowing it could be wrong?"

"Okaaaay. Well, does your brain have a preference of one over the other?" Cam asked using a different approach.

"No, I just want a happy healthy baby. It really doesn't matter either way to me."

It was like pulling teeth to get this woman to open up sometimes. "Bren, sure it does. Would you rather have a little girl to have tea parties and braid hair with or would you rather have a little boy you could share all of your grossest stories with?"

"Could you stop trying to get me to guess? Let's just get this over with so I can go home to my family. I would like to be home before Parker goes to bed."

The three ladies stood from their table, threw away their trash, and started toward one of the department stores specializing in maternity. Angela decided to ask one last question regarding the subject of gender, knowing that it could make her hormonal friend's anger rise back up.

"Are you at least going to find out when you can or are you going to keep the gender as a surprise?"

"I don't know, Ange. Booth and I have not discussed this. Personally, I would rather find out so that we can be prepared, and because I don't like surprises. Booth, on the other hand, likes surprises, but he is also impatient. So, I don't even honestly know what Booth wants. We still have several weeks before it will be possible to find out, so I have time to talk to him about it."

The three women walked around the displays in the department store looking for comfortable professional wear for Brennan.

"I don't like a lot of these clothes. Too many of them are frilly and there is too much fabric draped around and hanging down. I cannot wear clothes like these in a lab. The excess fabric is impractical and could get caught on something, and I would constantly have to hold it out of the way of my work."

"That is why we have lab coats, Sweetie; they protect our clothing from all of the wonderfully disgusting things you do the bodies." Angela said trying to point out that she wouldn't really have to worry about those issues. She knew her friend mostly just had a problem with the style of most of the clothing in the store , and she knew Brennan didn't exactly want to address the fact that she was going to be getting bigger and actually will need all of that extra fabric.

"I haven't been able to button my lab coat for a week now." Brennan muttered.

"They make bigger lab coats, Dr. Brennan; I could get you some." Cam knew that if she could talk to Brennan's logical and practical side, they would have a better chance at getting her to see the need for all of the excess fabric.

Angela talked her into a few pairs of nice dress pants, and also a belly band. There were not a lot of blouses that really appealed to Brennan, but she did get at least a few to get her started. She could actually still wear some of her blouses that she currently had, but not for much longer. Angela dragged her to another store claiming that she really didn't have enough yet, and she needed to also stock up for some of the future months so that she wouldn't have to go shopping so often. They had more success at the second store.

Angela then dragged her friends into the nail salon so they could all get their legs and feet massaged and get pedicures. Brennan had no problem with this; she very much enjoyed her last visit to this place with Angela, and her sore feet really did need the extra attention. The shoes she had on earlier in the day were rubbing the heel of her foot in a way they never had before. With as much time as she spends on her feet in the lab, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if her feet were already starting to swell slightly.

She didn't get a design this time. She just went with a simple bright red, which Angela said would always be a hot sexy color. Angela and Cam both got designs. Cam got some tiger stripes, while Angela got some abstract looking design that didn't really seem to follow much of a pattern, but was still appealing to the eyes.

When they were all done in the salon, they headed to Victoria's Secret to get some new articles of underwear for Brennan. She was still going commando, and she was not entirely comfortable with doing so for extended periods of time. She bought several pairs of panties in several sizes so she wouldn't have this problem again anytime soon. She also bought several new bras. She tried a few on, and decided that going up a cup size would be ideal. She spent several hundred dollars on underwear, but she figured that it was okay since money was not an issue.

Once the ladies were done shopping, they hurried back to Brennan's place so that she could maybe catch Parker before bedtime, but she had no such luck. The kid had already been asleep for an hour according to Booth. The other two women left to go home shortly after their arrival.

Brennan was in the kitchen making a fruit salad snack for herself when Booth's arms wrapped around her from behind. "Did you find some new clothes?" He nuzzled his nose behind her ear.

"Mmmhmm." She leaned back into his chest, and moved her head to the side to give him more access.

"Good. Hodgins was here earlier, and he told me you had yourself on display in your office today. He said he didn't want there to be any misunderstandings between us."

"I was not on _display_. I just needed to find a way to relieve the pressure of the clothes, and he happened to walk in my office at that time. It wasn't a big deal."

"I know. He just wanted me to know he didn't mean to look at your exposed flesh, and he even had the balls to say he didn't mean to enjoy it so much." Booth laughed. "But I gotta say, that now I'm a little jealous."

He started sucking on her neck, and she immediately moved out of his arms laughing so that he would know she wasn't really mad. "Seeley Joseph Booth, don't you dare mark me. I am not territory. You already put a ring on my finger!"

"Hey, you put a ring on mine, too." He smiled wide.

"Damn right I did. Do you have any idea how many women look at your physical structure even when I am standing right next to you?"

He thought about it for a second before speaking, "Probably just as many as the men who mentally undress you even when you are standing next to me," he returned. He loved it when he was able to get her playful personality to show.

She popped a strawberry in her mouth, grabbed her bowl of fruit, and walked to the living room.

They watched TV for a little bit before deciding to get ready for bed. They were just climbing into bed when they heard a loud wail followed by sobbing coming from down the hall. They then heard a noise that sounded like Parker's closet door sliding shut.

* * *

**I'm sorry to leave it there, but I wanted to at least give you guys something. In the next chapter we should see some Booth and Parker time, as well as Brennan helping with Booth's own demons as they are resurfacing. **

**Review, please. Much love! **

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	22. Soothing Nightmares and Taming Demons

**Here is another update to ease you're your thoughts from that wonderful little cliffhanger from yesterday's update. The number of reviews was down a little yesterday, but hopefully it was because it served as mainly a bridging chapter. This one wrote itself. Hopefully, I did this justice. R/R**

**Oh, and one last thing: We hit 200 reviews yesterday. Thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed, and a huge thanks to all of the regulars. You guys really inspire me to keep my ass on task with writing. Can't leave you guys hanging for too long, or I feel bad for it.**

* * *

After the couple heard Parker's frantic scream and the cries that followed, Booth decided that he probably needed to go check on Parker, especially after they heard his closet door shut. Parker needed to know that he is in a safe environment, and he doesn't have anything to hide from here.

Booth knocked lightly on the boy's closet door, "Parker, buddy? Are you in there?"

"Dad?" The boy asked timidly. He made no move to open the door yet. Booth didn't either. He had been where Parker is, and he knew the last thing he should do is open the door open and make matters worse.

He remembered the many times his father would come looking for him, and finally after checking everywhere else in the house his father would check the closet. He would yank the door open with frightening force.

Parker knew deep down his father would never hurt him, but Booth also remembered his distrust of many male figures in his life for quite some time until shortly after his grandfather showed up to take the boys in. Even then, at first he was hesitant to trust his Pops. He didn't know if Parker might experience this same distrust towards him, and on the chance that he was, Booth was not about to make it worse.

"Yeah, Bub, it's dad. Can I open the door?" Booth asked in a calm and soothing voice.

"No!" He shrieked, and then much softer, he replied, "No, I will open it."

"Take your time. I can wait for you." Booth saw right through his son's words. The fact that he didn't want his father to open the door told him that his son had probably had some of the same horrifying experiences Booth had as a child. He just knew that sick fuck went looking for Parker, and when he finally found him in the closet he probably jerked the door open violently.

Booth remembered what would normally happen after that. His father would then grab him by the arm, and drag him kicking and screaming until Booth would finally just go limp knowing that it hurt less when he didn't put up such a resistance. He shuddered at the memory, and it boiled his blood to the point where he knew that if he ever saw Brent again he would seriously consider murdering the bastard in cold blood.

He waited several minutes for Parker to come around on his own terms. He sat on the edge of Parker's bed while he waited. Booth knew that the last thing Parker needed to see upon opening the door is Booth towering tall above him.

Finally, the boy calmed down slightly, and opened the door. Booth looked up from the floor, and saw Parker's swollen eyes and tear covered cheeks glisten in the soft light that came from the hallway. "Come here, buddy. I've got you."

Booth remained seated while he let Parker take his time to come to him. When he got close enough, Booth held open his arms, and Parker walked into his embrace. "It felt so real."

"It's okay, daddy's here. You're safe here. You know that."

The boy nodded. "I know. I just—" Parker couldn't bring himself to finish his thought. The dream was bad enough, but for the split second that he didn't know where he was it terrified him. He didn't know how to explain his nightmare or his immediate reaction to it.

"Take your time. You know you can talk to me. You can tell me anything." Booth said as he rubbed circles on his back to sooth away the fear. "If you aren't ready to talk about it, you can tell me when you are ready."

"Okay, thanks." He buried his face back into his father's chest, and father and son sat in the comforting hug for several more minutes before Parker finally relaxed, enough to fall asleep in his dad's arms. Booth eased him down onto the mattress. He covered his boy up, and kissed his forehead.

He sat next to his son for almost half an hour just to make sure he was back into a deep sleep before he left. He didn't want Parker to wake up alone not long after falling asleep. Only when Booth was certain Parker was not going to wake up, he walked back into his own room.

Brennan had already fallen asleep. She was lying almost diagonally across the bed. Booth didn't want to wake her to get her to move over, but he really didn't have much of a choice. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Baby, can you move over, so I have somewhere to sleep?" He nudged her gently after he waited a few minutes for his words to register in her sleepy brain. "Bones."

"Hmm?"

"Scoot over, you're on my side." He nudged her again.

"Didn't your mother teach you how to share?" She mumbled.

"No. Just ask Jared." He chuckled. "Now, scooch over and let me lay down."

She still didn't budge. "Russ was horrible at sharing, too. Maybe it's just a boy thing."

"Bones! If you don't move over, I will lay on you. I'm totally serious."

"You wouldn't do that."

"Don't make me squish you."

"You wouldn't take the chance of squishing the jelly bean."

"Ugh, just move over, please."

"Okay, fine." She moved over enough to let him on the bed. She then proceeded to re-invade his space and drape herself over him after he settled down in his place. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. I know he had a nightmare, but he didn't want to talk about it. I didn't push him, but I did tell him that whenever he was ready he can tell me anything."

"You know, I think I know of a way that could help him open up to you. There was something you told me a long time ago; do you remember?"

_You have to offer up something of yourself first._

There was a soft knock on their door, and a soft sleepy voice that followed, "Dad? Dr. Bones? Can I come in?"

"Yeah, Bones, I remember." He whispered thinking that now might be his chance. It just so happened that the piece of information he had to offer his son was strikingly similar in nature. Booth didn't want his son to know the evils of his past, but the fact that Parker was now painfully aware of some of those evils himself, Booth figured it might help Parker see that he isn't alone in this.

He called out to his son to let him know he could enter, "Yeah, buddy, we're awake. Come in."

Brennan kissed Booth's cheek, and then moved over to her side, leaving plenty of room in the center. She patted the mattress, "Come on up here and lay with us for a while."

Parker climbed onto the bed and settled between them. "Sorry. I couldn't sleep. I heard talking."

"We're sorry for being too loud. Do you want to talk about anything?" She asked the boy as she stroked her hand through his hair.

"Yes, it's just hard."

"I know, Bub, but I think I know how to help you." Booth said. "How about if I tell you something that I went through?"

Brennan reached her hand across to Booth's arm and gave an approving squeeze, and to let him know that it was the right thing to do.

Parker nodded his approval as well.

"Parks, there are a few things about my childhood that I have kept hidden from you because there was no need for you to ever know the rotten details and the horrors of what I went through. Do you remember how I told you that I lived with Pops when I was growing up?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Well, my own dad wasn't very nice to me. He would drink all of the time and hit Jared and me. He would hit my mom pretty badly, too."

"He did?"

"Yeah. I would try to protect Jared as much as I could, but sometimes it didn't always work. Sometimes, if I was the only one home, I would hide in my closet."

"Like me?"

"Yeah. Buddy, I saw the set up you had in your closet at your mom's house. I had one almost exactly like it. I would hide out in there, and wait for him to pass out. Sometimes, he would come looking for me, and when he would find me it was never good because he hated having to look for me."

"I was the only target when mom wasn't home; I had to have somewhere that was mine, but he figured it out quickly." Parker said solemnly.

"My dad did, too."

"Brent drinks, too. He didn't always, but mom says she thinks it started since he lost a lot of money from investing in a company that went bankrupt." Parker said trying to find a justification for Brent's actions.

"There is never any good excuse. Nothing justifies what Brent did to you and your mom." Brennan said with venom dripping from her statement.

"Parker, one day Pops walked in the house when my father was beating me. My dad left. I never saw him again. Jared and I moved in with Pops. He raised us from then on."

"Did you still love him?" Parker asked.

The question caught Booth by surprise, but it really shouldn't have. He knew what Parker was feeling. "Yeah, buddy. I did still love him. What he did was awful, but it wasn't always bad. There was some good, too. That just made it harder."

"Yeah, me too. I still love Brent. I'm trying really hard not to, but there was way more good than there was bad. He only started doing this a few weeks ago. I don't understand it."

"You may never understand it. I don't understand what happened to me either, Bub. Sometimes things like this just happen to good people, and you know what?"

"What?"

"I think it makes us stronger people. I am who I am today because of what happened to me back then." He looked at Brennan, who had a slight smile on her face.

"Will it make me stronger?" Parker asked with a hopeful voice.

"I think it will make you stronger." Brennan said, and Parker turned toward her. He smiled, and she continued, "I am who I am today, because of tough situations I went through when I was a teenager."

"Like when Grandpa Max left to protect you?" he asked.

"Yeah, like that, but I have also been a victim of abuse. Some of the foster parents I lived with after my parents left were not very nice. I have been yelled at, threatened, beaten, and locked in the trunk of a car for two days. All of these things, while they hurt at the time, made me stronger. I am who I am today because of those events."

"I didn't know any of that happened to you, Dr. Bones." Parker said in awe of her. He admired this woman so much, not just because his dad loved her, but because she was a genuinely good person and very smart, too. He also now had a greater respect for his dad. Now that he knew that these two strong and loving people both had demons from their pasts, he felt like he would be okay, too.

"Did you want to share your nightmare with us?" Booth asked to give Brennan a moment to compose her thoughts. He could tell that she was in tears, and he didn't know if it was from re-visiting her past of from the hormones. Probably both, he thought.

"I don't think I'm ready to talk about it. It was so real, dad, and so much worse than what I actually went through. I just need a little longer." Parker said with a fear in his eyes. He didn't know if he would ever be ready to talk about it. "Can I stay in here with you guys tonight? Just for tonight. Please?"

"Yeah. Just for tonight, though. You don't have anything to be afraid of here; you know that." Booth said repeating his words from earlier.

"I know. Thanks."

Both adults kissed him goodnight, and then he was out faster than either one of them thought he would be. Talking about their past apparently put him at ease, and let him know that even bad events can have happy endings.

"You didn't have to do that Bones." Booth spoke in a whisper.

"Do what?" She asked.

"You didn't have to talk about your past."

"Yes, I did. He was telling both of us about his situation. It was only fair that I share mine, too."

"Thank you for reminding me what it takes to get someone to open up sometimes."

"You're welcome, but you would've figured it out." She said with confidence. "I know how hard it is for you to talk about your dad. I think it helped him, though."

"Yeah, I think so, too. I just hate this so much." Booth said, his voice growing louder than he intended.

Parker stirred, but did not wake up.

I hate it, too, but if what happened to us made us stronger, then I can only imagine that the events Parker went though will make him stronger, too." She said.

"Thanks, Bones. I love you so much." He leaned over Parker and kissed her. "You are amazing."

"I know." She said with little humility. "I love you, too."

"Night, Bones."

"Goodnight, Booth."

* * *

**So, what did you think? Did I do it justice? Sometimes, I think Parker is a hard character to write. It is hard to get into the mentality of a ten year old. How would they act? What would they be likely to say? Things like that. By taking this story line the way I have, it is forcing me to open up and write more Parker, and I would really like some feedback on what you guys think.**

**Review. :)**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	23. Happy Memories

**Okay, so do you remember how giddy I was when Hart Hanson retweeted one of my posts? Okay, now times that by a thousand, and that is how freaking ecstatic I am right now. I got bored yesterday while I was waiting for a parent to show up and take their kid home. We were drawing as we waited, and I just started doodling. I drew this awesome Bones stick figure picture thing, and I posted it to twitter yesterday, and then HH decided to use it as his twitter background. –Insert fan-girl squeal here- :D  
**

**Okay, now the update…enjoy. R/R**

* * *

Wednesday morning was a little more hectic than any of them needed. Parker tossed and kicked both adults throughout the short amount of time he was in their bed. The heavy sleeping trio all slept through the alarms. The first one to wake up was Parker; when he noticed it was after 10:30, he tried to wake up Booth and Brennan.

"Dad! Wake up!" Parker yelled.

Both Booth and Brennan shot up in the bed, and frantically started to find their way out of the tangled sheets.

"Parker what is it? What's wrong?" Booth asked quickly once he was standing.

"You overslept. It's 10:50," The boy replied.

Booth breathed a slight sigh of relief. Parker made it almost sound like the house was on fire when he startled them awake. "Oh, shit." The relief didn't last long. They were supposed to be at the Hoover for a 9:00 meeting with Sweets. That's just another one they weren't going to go to. Even though they are not assigned to each other at the moment, Cullen and Sweets both recommended the therapy sessions continue so if any problems do arise between the two, Sweets could help defuse it.

Brennan saw the clock as soon as Parker told them they overslept. She rushed to the bathroom immediately to take a shower. Booth told Parker to go down, and make himself some cereal for breakfast.

Booth decided that in order to conserve time he would just jump in the shower with Brennan. He locked the door behind Parker as he left, and then shed his clothes on the way to the bathroom.

Booth stepped in the shower, and Brennan immediately went in for a searing kiss that told him she wanted more than what they had time for. He grabbed her wrists that were heading south, and brought them to his lips.

"Sorry baby, not right now. We are both very late, and Parker's school won't even take him past 10:30. I would call Rebecca to see if she wants some time with him, but I'm sure she has to work. I thought we could use this time to shower and figure out what we are going to do with him."

"He could always just come to the lab with me. He loves it there."

"I know he loves it there, but he has never spent a whole day there. He's only spent a few hours tops, and I just don't want him to get bored and get into trouble or get in the way."

"I'm sure it will be fine, if he gets too bored hanging out in my office, he could bring his Wii, and set it up on one of Angela's big screens in her office, provided it isn't already in use for something. Or I'm sure my dad could spend part of the day walking around the museum with him."

"He does love your dad. I'm sure he would choose that option, even over hooking his Wii up to a ginormous TV."

"Booth, you do know that isn't a real word, right?" She asked with genuine concern.

"Yes, baby, I know. People just use it as a way to exaggerate their point. Consider it a form a hyperbole."

"Oh, okay," she accepted his explanation. "So, he's coming with me?"

"Yeah, I do think it is the best option, but you know if he starts to get bored or cause any trouble you can give me a call."

"Okay, but I won't need you." She said without thinking about her word choice.

"Gee, thanks Bones." He said with an Angela worthy eye roll.

Once it finally hit her as to why Booth's attitude had changed, she quickly tried to fix her problem. "Booth, I didn't mean it like that. I do need you. I just meant that I didn't think I would need to call you. I'm sorry."

"I know, baby. I didn't mean to have such a sarcastic response either." He reached across the shower, and stepped into her pulling his arms around her. "I need you, and you need me. We both know it. I should have realized sooner that you didn't mean it like that."

"Are we ready to get out now?" She asked as they broke apart.

"Yep." He reached down, and shut the water off. He handed her a towel, and then grabbed one for himself.

Brennan went into the closet while booth headed to the dresser to get undergarments for them both; she grabbed a suit for him and one of her new outfits for her. They quickly got dressed, and went down to have a quick bite to eat.

Parker had just put his bowl into the sink when they walked in. Booth looked into the sink at the bowl. "Nope, Parks, get your butt back in here." The boy looked down. He had been caught. "Is that how you were taught to leave the dishes?" Booth asked in his fatherly tone.

"No, sir."

"Fix it." Booth said in a stern tone that told him not to mess around and just get it done.

Parker walked back to the sink, picked up the bowl that still had some milk and cereal in it. He poured it down the drain with the disposal, and then rinsed the bowl before putting it in the dishwasher.

"Thank you, Parker." Brennan said as he finished.

"Bones is a neat freak, Bub. We don't need to scare her away." Booth said jokingly, which of course Brennan didn't pick up.

"Booth! I am not a _neat freak_, and I would appreciate it if you would refrain from calling me a _freak_ of any kind!" She punched his shoulder none too lightly.

"Ow! Sorry, Bones. I was only kidding! Did you have to hit me? Your bony hands hurt."

"If anyone here is a _neat freak_, it's you." She pointed her finger at him, "You are the one who insists that our bed be made military style the second we vacate it. You wouldn't even let me shove board games under the bed!"

"She's right, dad. You are the neat freak here. You are the one who tells me when something isn't good enough."

"Oh great. Gang up on me." He laughed. "We need to leave, now."

They left the apartment, and Booth was driving in the direction of the Jeffersonian when Parker realized they were not going in the right direction.

"Dad, my school is the other way." Parker said in confusion. In the rush to leave apparently the two adults had neglected to tell him that he was not going to school today.

"Your school won't take late comers after a certain time, so you get to go to work with Bones at the lab today."

"Cool! I get to spend the whole day with Dr. Bones!"

"Yes, you get to spend the day with me! And I told you a long time ago that you didn't have to call me Dr. Bones; you could just call me Bones or Tempe if you would like."

"Nah, I like Dr. Bones. It sounds cool, and I am the only one that calls you that, just like dad is the only one that calls you Bones."

"Okay, fair enough. I like it, too." She looked back and smiled at him.

"So, are you and dad married now?" Parker asked.

Booth had just picked up his cup of coffee, and it was a good thing Booth did not yet have it up to his mouth. "What?"

"Are you married?" He asked again.

"No, Parker we are not married, yet." Brennan answered.

"Oh," he said in slight disappointment. "I just thought that the rings meant you were married."

"No, buddy, Bones and I got engaged, but we aren't married yet. We wouldn't get married without you being there." Booth replied. "I gave Bones her mother's ring, and she gave me a ring, too. We decided to both wear rings even though it is usually just the woman who wears an engagement ring. So we will get married, but not yet."

"Okay. That's cool. So, she's going to be my stepmom?"

"Yeah, that's how it works, Parker," Booth answered.

They hadn't meant to leave him out of the loop, but with everything that was going on with the abuse, they didn't really think it was a good time to bring it up. Parker had apparently noticed the rings on his own, and even though it wasn't how they planned to tell him of their engagement, they were glad he asked about them. It was one less thing they had to figure out.

"Dr. Bones, can I see your ring up close?" He asked. After noticing his dad's ring, he caught a glimpse of her ring, but didn't get the chance to look at it up close. She reached her hand back and showed him. "Wow, that is so pretty. It belonged to your mom?"

"Yes. My dad gave it to her when they got engaged. My dad gave the ring to Booth so he could give it to me."

"So, now Max is going to be my grandpa, too, right?" She turned around again and nodded. "Awesome!"

"You may get to see him today. If you get bored, we can see if he wants to explore the museum with you."

"Yeah!" The boy exclaimed in sheer excitement.

Booth looked into the rearview mirror at his son, "Parker, you need to calm down a bit before we get to the lab; we are almost there."

"Okay, but dad, do you have any idea how cool this day has been so far? I don't have to go to school. I get to spend the day at one of the coolest places on the planet. I found out you and Dr. Bones are engaged and are going to get married which means Dr. Bones is going to be my stepmom, and Max is going to be my grandpa. And then Dr. Bones tells me I might get to spend some time with him today. It's totally awesome."

"Yeah, I guess it is. We're here. You be good for Bones. Listen to her, and mind what she says. If she has to call me, you can count on being grounded."

"Got it. Bye, dad. Love you." He got out of the car, and waited patiently on the sidewalk for Brennan. He knew his dad would want to kiss her. _Yuck!_

Brennan gave Booth a kiss that was much too short for both of them, but Parker was waiting on her. She got out, and together they walked into the Jeffersonian. An irate Cam saw her top anthropologist walk into the lab at 11:50.

"There you are. It's about time you grace us with your presence. Do you realize it is almost lunchtime? You were supposed to be…" She trailed off when she finally noticed Parker walking behind her. "Hey, Parker. How are you doing?" She asked in a much more polite and inviting tone. She could tell by his timid posture that she might have startled him with her previously accusatory tone.

Brennan dug around in her purse pulling out her keys. She found the one she was looking for and handed the keys to Parker. "Parker, here is the key to my office. Why don't you go in and make yourself comfortable for a while. I will be in there soon."

He took the keys with wide eyes. "I get to unlock your office for you? Awesome!" He took off running toward her door.

"Walk, Parker."

"Oh yeah. Sorry." He slowed down.

"I'm sorry, Cam. I didn't have any choice, but to bring him here with me today. We had a rough night last night. We were getting ready for bed when Parker screamed and we heard crying. Booth found him in his closet, and waited him out. Parker had a nightmare that he won't talk about."

"Poor thing. That's got to be tough."

"Booth did get him to go back to sleep, but he heard us talking and woke up again. He came into our room to lay with us for awhile, and to help him open up Booth told him about his father, and I told him about my foster parents."

"Wow, Seeley actually talked, willingly, about his father? Did it help?"

"It did, and he opened up and talked a little. He still wouldn't talk about the dream though. We just had a really late night. He ended up staying in bed with us, and kicked Booth and me the rest of the night."

"Okay, but that doesn't explain why he is here, and not at school."

"Parker's school won't take kids who are late past a certain time. They take attendance for the school records and for funding purposes; if a student is going to be late they need to be there before they take attendance that is submitted for the day or they are not permitted to attend for the day."

"Okay, make sure to keep an eye on him. He needs to stay out of the way." Cam told her.

"I believe between his DS, his Wii, and my dad we can keep him sufficiently occupied."

"Okay, I am going to take my lunch break a few minutes early. I left a few files on your desk for some of the Limbo cases that I would like you to start on today."

"Okay, I will take a look at them."

"Bye, Dr. Brennan." Cam said as she exited the lab.

Brennan walked over to her office. Parker was laying back on her couch, propped up with several pillows and contentedly playing his DS.

Brennan walked over to her desk, and opened one of the files Cam had placed there. She told Parker to stay in her office unless he needed something. She walked over to Limbo and retrieved the crate of Bones that coordinated with the file. She laid them out and began to study them. She quickly identified them as male, late forties, bone markers of an athlete. She found cause of death, and completed the file as much as she could. The teeth were in such an array that she would not be able to determine identity through running dentals. She knew she would have to compare hospital records to see if any of the old injuries matched the profile of the victim. She could not find anything, so she put the remains back in the bin and decided it was time to go check on Parker.

He was still sitting there playing his game, but when she walked in and he looked up with a smile that indicated he was very glad to see her, she could tell he was starting to get restless with that activity. She asked him if he wanted to play the Wii, or give Max a call to see if he was available, and just like Booth predicted, he chose Max. She gave him a call, and sure enough, he was available.

When he showed up it didn't take him long to notice the familiar ring on his daughter's finger. He loved the sight of it on her. Brennan looked so much like Ruth, and he adored his daughter for being a living reminder of his late wife. She noticed his lingering look and the way his eyes misted at the thought. Thankfully, Parker had run off to the bathroom for a few minutes.

"What?" She asked him with genuine confusion for his actions.

"You said yes." He pointed to her mother's ring that now rested in her finger.

She smiled. "Yes, I did." She looked down at the ring. "It's just how I remembered." She said referring to her mother's ring.

"Good, honey. Your mother hoped that one day she could find a way to get it to you. She would always talk about how much she missed it when you would play with her rings. You would take them, try them on and play with them. Do you remember when you took them without her knowing and she couldn't find them? She found you in your room pretending to be married to that tall stuffed giraffe you had." He laughed at the memory of the six year old girl wearing rings that were too big, pretending to be married to a three foot tall stuffed animal.

"No, I had forgotten about that." She laughed with him at the memory of her mother. She wished she could remember more of the little things like this that occurred between her and her mother, but mostly the memory of watching them pull out of the driveway to go shopping and never returning marred and overshadowed many of the happy memories she had of her parents. "Thanks, dad."

Even though she had largely forgiven him, and accepted the reality that he was not dead and that her parents abandoned her to keep her safe she rarely expressed or showed her affection for the man that she was so close to all those years ago. But right now, she decided that she could hug him. She did, and she kissed his cheek, too. While in the embrace he felt the tiny lump between them. "May I?" He asked, expressing his wish to touch her stomach.

Everyone had been doing that lately since she had started to show more. She didn't understand the need for them to want to touch her abdomen; it isn't like they could feel the baby, yet. Still, even though she didn't understand it, she never denied anyone the opportunity, as long as they asked first. There had been a few hands of some agents at the Hoover and a few lab employees that she had swatted away to Booth's amusement.

"Go ahead. You can't feel anything, yet." She told him.

He still had one of his arms around her, and he brought the other hand to rest on her little bump. "Aw, Tempe!" His eyes misted again. "It isn't about feeling it. It is about being as close to the little miracle as possible."

Parker walked in, and saw Max rubbing his hand across Brennan's tummy. "Dr. Bones, can I feel, too?"

"Sure, Parks. Come over here." She waved him closer.

"Hi, Max."

"Hey, little man." He gave her stomach one more little rub, and removed his hand. He took one of Parker's hands, and placed it where his hand just was.

Parker was in awe at first, then after a few seconds he placed his other small hand on her abdomen, too. He frowned a little. "I can't feel anything."

"Not yet," she looked at Max as she spoke her next statement, "but you are as close to your new sibling as you can possibly be right now."

His eyes widened and brightened up significantly as he smiled up at her. "Really? Wow!" He tapped one of his fingers lightly on her tummy. "Hello, baby. This is your big brother, Parker. I love you."

Brennan didn't even have the heart to tell him that they baby couldn't hear him, yet, and even when it could, the baby wouldn't understand the words. Parker was already so in love with this little life inside of her.

Parker removed his hands from Brennan's abdomen, and wrapped his arms around her for a hug. "Thanks, Bones. You can add that to my list of cool things that happened today."

"Okay, buddy, are you ready to go roam this gigantic place?" Max asked.

"Yeah, let's go. See ya later, Dr. Bones. Love you."

"Love you, too. Be good."

"I will." Max responded.

Parker laughed. "Me too."

* * *

**Yea! Fluff! Review. ;) **

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	24. Sharing the Burden

**Sorry about the huge delay in posting. Musie took an extended vacation without permission. She is back in full force now that the Rangers are going to the World Series**.

**On another note, I am dealing with the angst that Dish Network is dropping all Fox channels come November 1st! Not only does that interfere with the World Series watching, there goes my shows like House, Raising Hope, Fringe, The Simpsons, and most importantly, Bones!  
**

**Now without further delay...**

* * *

When Parker and Max returned to the lab, they found Brennan asleep in her office on her couch. Parker didn't want to wake her up, but Max knew that the position she was in would leave her back in knots if he left her alone to sleep for a little while longer. He gently woke her up, and presented her with the take-out from the diner they had walked over and picked up.

As the sleep wore off she became engrossed in eating her food, and was silent as she listened to Parker and Max discuss the things they had seen.

Just as she was stuffing a few fries into her mouth, Booth walked into her office. His face lit up into a crooked smile as he saw the delight she was getting from the carbohydrate loaded treat she was eating.

"Ya know, Bones, for someone who is constantly on me for my eating habits, you are one to talk missy. It looks like you are about to polish off that huge container that Lucy probably stuffed full of fries, and you have not even touched your rabbit food salad."

Her brow furrowed instantly and she gave him a pointed look, "Leave me alone, Booth. I'm eating."

Max raised his eyebrows at his daughter's growl.

"For that, I'm glad, but I'm kinda bummed you didn't wait on me." Booth gave a faux pout.

"I didn't have anything to do with it; I was asleep on the couch when these two brought me food." Brennan said as she indicated to her father and Parker.

"Relax Booth, I figured you would come by during lunch so I had Lucy fix up your usual, and I believe she threw in a slice of apple pie." Max said as he pointed over to a bag on the coffee table that still contained two unopened boxes from the diner.

"Thanks." He smiled and retrieved his containers from the coffee table. He turned to Parker who was sitting next to Brennan, and indicated for him to scoot over a bit so he could sit next to her.

She immediately scooted her body up closer to his, and leaned into him seeking his familiar warmth and comfort.

Max finished his food fairly quickly, and said his goodbyes as it was time for him to get back to work. He had some things to prepare so that he could be ready for the kids as they showed up for the after school science program.

Parker enthusiastically recounted just about every detail of his day so far to his dad in a very animated manner. Booth's mind was spinning from sensory overload by time Parker stopped talking, and when he glanced over at Brennan, who had moved over to her desk some time ago, he expected to see her typing or doing something productive as usual. He definitely did not expect to see her practically passed out across the keyboard with her cheek pressing random letters into the field where she was responding to an email from her publicist.

He stood from the couch and walked over to her. He lifted her off the keyboard and chuckled at her grumpy groan from being disturbed. "Sorry baby, but you're drooling on your keyboard and I am pretty sure that you don't want to send that email you were trying to write with your face. Maybe I should take you and Parker home for the day?"

"Mmmm, no." She mumbled after dropping her head back down to rest on her arms.

"Yes, let's go. No arguments. You are not getting anything done. You promised that you would adjust your schedule if you needed to."

"I know," she looked at her watch, "but it is only 3:30, and after being late this morning, I really need to get to work on these other cases Cam wants me to look at."

"Don't make me call Cam in here. The last thing she wants is for you to be in here sleeping at your desk, pretending to be working while on the clock. Did you tell her we were up late with Parker?" He asked.

He knew Cam well enough to know that as long as she had knowledge of why her charges were not at work at reasonable times, she wouldn't mind. She did not see a need for a strict schedule, unless there was a meeting or a timeframe on a certain case. It wasn't like she had much to worry about with this group of people currently under her watch anyway. Recently the only thing she had to watch out for on that front was making sure Brennan didn't over do it.

"Yes. She was a little bit brash at first until she realized Parker was with me. After I explained my tardiness she seemed very understanding."

"She will be understanding if you need to go home and rest, too. It's dangerous to work here in the lab if you are not completely on top of your game. The last thing Cam wants, no, the last thing you want is to make a mistake because you are too tired."

"Why are you always right?" She asked in a still sleep laced funk.

"It doesn't matter if I am right or wrong. I was just using your precious logic on you."

"That is just not fair. You cannot logic me into things. Not nice." She turned her face away from him as he tried to lean his face down next to hers to kiss her cheek.

"Aw, Bones, come on! I'm trying to be the extra protective overbearing alpha male you love."

"That's nice. Do it later. It's nap time now."

"Dr. Bones?"

"Hmm?" She turned her head back to look at Parker.

"Sometimes, when I used to get cranky like that, dad would pick me up and carry me, against my will. He has that look in his eye." Parker said with a serious tone.

"He does?" She sat up, looked into his eyes, and then smiled as she pointed at him. "Don't you dare!"

"Then let's go. Parker, can you get all of your games together. I am going to go tell Cam that I am taking Bones home." He leaned down to kiss her on the forehead, and this time she didn't protest. "You, Bones, are going to shut the computer down, and gather your things. Be ready when I get back." He placed his hand on her cheek and titled her head back to where he could easily brush his lips against hers. After the short sweet kiss, his hand lingered on her cheek for a few seconds, and then he made his way out of her office in search of Cam.

**B&B**

Booth took Parker and Brennan home, and Brennan had another nap while the boys played outside in the park near her apartment and then cooked dinner. After dinner, Booth and Brennan were standing there doing the dishes as they talked.

"You know that marriage license you gave me is going to expire in three weeks?" Booth asked he handed her a plate to dry.

"I know. I figured we could discuss the timeframe, and if we needed more time or wanted to wait until after the baby is born then we could just get another one. I just had Caroline draw it up to show you that I'm serious about it." She finished drying the plate, and set it on the counter to be put away.

"You went to Caroline for this?" She nodded. "Did she ask you to do anything in return?"

"No, but we can discuss whether or not she is going to ask us to return a favor another time. Do you think that maybe we should set a date?"

"Yeah, that's typically how it goes. It's October now, which means Thanksgiving is coming up. I would like to do it before then. Unless you want to wait until you aren't pregnant?"

"No, I think I want to do it soon. I would agree to having the ceremony before Thanksgiving."

"You actually want a ceremony?" For now they both abandoned the task of washing the dishes in the sink.

"I do." She smiled at her words. "I like the sound of that. I do want a ceremony. Nothing too big, of course, but we could invite our families and a few friends. I would like to have the ceremony at your church."

"At my church? Bones you don't have to do that for me."

"No, you're right. I don't, but I find that it would be a beautiful place to hold the wedding. Besides, I must confess that while I still don't share your beliefs, I did not always have the belief about marriage that scared you away from me for so long. As a young girl I would often dream about getting married and having a family, but then things changed for me as I lost more and more of my family. I was just bitter at the events in my life, until you broke away that bitterness. I don't care where you marry me, Seeley Booth. I only care about being happy with you, and making you happy."

"I love you so much, Bones."

"I love you, too, Seeley."

Their eyes held each others' for several long moments before turning back to the dishes. If they would have touched their bodies would have been ignited and engulfed in flames before it could be doused. They couldn't allow that to happen with Parker sitting right there behind them at the table doing his homework that Booth went and picked up from the teachers earlier in the day. Their eyes held a promise to each other to pick it up later when they were alone.

"Okay, so that solves our venue problem, but what about the date?" Brennan asked as Booth turned back to the dishes he was washing.

"What about on Halloween? October 31st."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. Think about it. It's perfect. We work with the macabre and death, and it just seems like an _us_ thing to do. Besides if our anniversary falls on Halloween, there wouldn't be much of a chance for either of us to ever forget it." He smiled at her.

"You better not ever forget our anniversary, regardless of the date." She poked his chest with her bony finger to get her point across. His eyes told her that it was just a joke, and she relaxed.

"So, what do you say?"

"What is there to say?" She asked.

"Yes or no, about getting married on Halloween."

"Okay. We can get married on Halloween."

"Parker, did you hear that, buddy?" Booth looked back at his son.

"No, what?" Parker asked as he looked up from his homework.

"Bones and I are getting married on Halloween!" He exclaimed.

"That is so cool. Can we all wear costumes?"

Booth looked at Brennan, and her scrunched up face held the answer. "No, buddy. Maybe we should save that for the reception."

"Okay, dad. I can't wait." He quickly got back to his work so that he could finish up and go play his Wii.

"Me either, Bub."

**B&B**

After dishes and homework were done, the Booth boys played the Wii for a little bit. Brennan decided that if she was getting married in just over two weeks she needed to start making plans. She called Angela to help her start making plans for the wedding and reception. She also started making plans for the Honeymoon, or was it the Babymoon?

In the end she decided that it didn't matter as long as she got both before she had travel restrictions. She went ahead and picked a location, which meant that the first trip was going to be their Honeymoon because she had promised Booth that he could pick the destination of their Babymoon. She booked the trip to Seychelles, just off the coast of Africa, for the five days after the wedding.

She then pried him from the Wii long enough to hand him her laptop and debit card so he could pick out the destination for their Babymoon, which he wanted to be kept a secret. She told him to book the trip for the first week in December. As he entered her debit card information, he recalled their debate about money that settled them into their current arrangement.

_The second day after Booth moved in with Brennan_

_Booth went down to the lobby of the apartment building to pick up the mail; he inserted the key into the little mailbox, and pulled out a stack of envelopes. From what he could tell, most of them were bills, and a few were just junk. He sighed. He really didn't want to have this fight so soon after moving in, but it looked like it was about to happen._

_He got in the door of the apartment, and set his keys in the bowl. He tossed the junk in the trash, and then headed for their bedroom where he left her earlier to work on her book._

"_Baby, I got the mail. It looks like most of them are bills. I already chunked the other crap in the trash."_

"_Okay, hand them to me, and I will pay them online." She extended her hand to reach for the mail he just tossed on the bed. He was quicker than she was, and he snatched the bills back up, and held them out of reach before she could get to them. "Booth!"_

"_No, Bones. You are not going to just pay them. I have to contribute in some way around here. I don't want to feel like I am just living here without pulling my own weight."_

"_It doesn't matter where the money comes from Booth! If I didn't want you here, then you wouldn't be here."_

_It does matter. I have a job, and would like to be able to at least pretend that by paying for some of these bills that I am in some way supporting my richer than God girlfriend!"_

"_Booth."_

"_No, I need to do this Temperance. I am a working man. I have always had to work my way through life, and that cannot suddenly change because of who I am with. It's who I have been for so long, that it is what I need. I need to feel like I am supporting you and our little family. Please don't take this away from me. Please?"_

"_Okay, okay. Would you agree to some sort of compromise?"_

"_I'm listening."_

"_You pay your child support for Parker. That I can never take from you, anyway. You can also take the rent and electricity bills. I will take the renter's insurance, cell phone bill, payments for my car and car insurance, the Dish Network bill, the payments for my condos in Montreal and Los Angeles. I can also take any extra expenses that we may have. I am sure that this isn't a complete comprehensive list of all of the bills, but it is a start and we can discuss the others as they come up."_

"_Thanks Bones. You have condos? Since when? I know you don't ever just take off from work to go on vacation."_

"_Well, I got them a few months ago in hopes we could go on a trip together sometime to spend a few days away from murder and criminals." _

"Booth?"

No response.

"Booth?" He looked at her. "Booth, you have that look in your eye that you get when you are thinking about something." Without thinking, his eyes shifted to her debit card that he just laid on his lap. "Oh. You are still uneasy about using my money."

"Yeah, I guess. It still feels like you are paying for everything. I know that it isn't true, but you just are paying way more and my contribution pales in comparison."

"I know of a way we could solve this issue, once and for all."

"How?" He asked. He knew what she was going to say, and he already knew why her solution wouldn't really solve anything he was feeling.

"We could consolidate everything in our accounts. We could get a joint account. We are getting married. I just think that if the money is all mixed up, there wouldn't be a question of who it came from because it is all coming from the same place."

"That's a nice thought, but Bones, we both know that you have enough money put away for both of us to retire and not work another day for the rest of our lives. It is kind of a given that since the majority of the money will still have come from you, that you are still pulling most of the weight."

"Okay, I have a better idea. It is similar, but I think you would be more willing to agree. We still open a joint account, and the only money that goes in will be what you make, plus the money I put in to match it. So everything that goes in is equal. Fifty-fifty. The rest of my money can go into a savings account and used for donations, emergencies, college for the kids, or anything else that we can think of to put it towards. Deal?"

"That does sound like a better idea. Deal." Brennan reached her right hand out to shake on the deal, but Booth grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him for a kiss to seal the deal.

**B&B**

It was three in the morning when Brennan woke up. She laid there for about fifteen minutes, and couldn't go back to sleep. She gently and quietly got out of bed trying to not disturb Booth. She stepped on a creaky floorboard as she put her clothes on, and froze as Booth shifted. He didn't wake up, and she made sure to walk a little more carefully to the door. She used the bathroom in the hall so that she wouldn't disturb Booth with the light or the noise of the toilet flushing.

She made her way to the kitchen to get a snack and something to drink. She opened Booth's bag of barbeque potato chips in hopes that the carbohydrates would make her sleepy. She sat on the couch in the dark eating the chips and drinking her herbal tea as she listened to the thunder in the background.

She was startled slightly when she heard a door open and small footsteps going down the hallway.

"Parker?" She called from the living room.

He paused by the door of the master bedroom. "Bones?"

"Yeah, baby. I'm out here." She could hear the sniffle and tears in his voice.

He walked out into the living room. "I was just going to see if maybe I could stay with you guys tonight. Why are you out here? Did dad get mad and make you sleep on the couch? That isn't very nice."

"No, I am out here so that I don't wake your father up. I couldn't sleep. I guess I just slept too much during the day, and now I am not tired."

"Okay, good." He sighed. "Mom says that when someone has to sleep on the couch it should always be the man. She would make…" He trailed off as he almost mentioned the fact that his mother would make Brent sleep on the couch. Brennan caught what he was going to say.

Parker was still standing where the living room and hallway met, and Brennan motioned for him to come over to her. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about him if it makes you uncomfortable." She reached a hand out for him to hold onto as he approached the couch and sank down next to her. She put an arm around him, and he leaned into her. They both leaned back into a more relaxed sitting position. She extended the bag of chips to the boy to see if he wanted some. He took a handful before he spoke again.

"I do want to talk about it. It's just hard. I love him, and I thought he loved us. I had another bad dream tonight. That's why I was going to go to your room."

"Do you want to talk about it? Tell me what it was about."

He shrugged.

"Parker we all have nightmare that stem from some fears that our subconscious mind worries about. Sometimes it is helpful to talk about it. For example, I still have nightmares sometimes about when Jack and I were taken by the Gravedigger, and your father, too. The nightmare always ends with one or in some cases all of us dying. It always helps for me to talk about it with your dad. I am not always willing to talk about it at first, either, but after I eventually give in, I feel better knowing that I no longer carry the burden of that fear alone."

"Okay, but can this stay between us?"

She knew that Booth wouldn't be crazy about the idea of her keeping a secret from him, but she thought that he would certainly be glad that his son was going to open up to someone. "Yeah, it can stay between us." She put the bag of chips aside to give him her full attention."

"The bad dreams were both the same. It would start with me in my room sitting on my bed finishing homework. I heard the front door slam. Then, I could hear him yelling at mom. I knew I shouldn't have, but I snuck down the hall and peeked around the corner. I could see him hitting her, and he knocked her down. He kicked her a lot, until blood was coming out of her mouth and she wasn't moving anymore. I took off down the hall and went back to my room and I went to my closet. I know I could never hide from him in there. He always found me, but I just feel like it bought me a little time to prepare for what I knew was coming." The tears were freely falling down his cheeks, but his voice was determined to get this out to seek the relief of not carrying this fear alone. "I could hear the pounding. I could hear his crazy voice trying to coax me out. Then, he got frustrated and ripped the door away from the frame as he kicked it in. He then pounded a few times on the closet door before flinging it open. He had the wildest expression I had ever seen on his face. He was much worse in the nightmare than he ever was for real. Both times I woke up right as he started to hit me."

Brennan stayed silent, knowing from experience that there was nothing that he wanted to hear at this moment. All he needed was someone to be there for him. Someone to hold him. Someone to share this fear with. She knew by the way he hugged her tighter, that she was doing all he needed. She laid them back into a lounging position, and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch over the both of them before she finally spoke.

"After I aged out of foster care, one of the first things I did was take a self defense course. From then on, I trained in several forms martial arts. Do you think you would want to try something like martial arts? For defense, I mean. Violence is not okay, but it is perfectly acceptable to learn how to defend yourself. It really helped me move on."

"That sounds like something I could try."

"Okay. I won't tell your father what you told me, but I will talk to him about the martial arts idea, okay?"

She felt him nod against her, and she held him as they both fell asleep on the couch.

* * *

**Thanks for patiently waiting for the update. I hope you enjoyed it. Review. :)**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	25. Mama Bones

When Booth woke up to Brennan's phone alarm that morning, he quickly discovered he was alone. He noticed that the light to the bathroom wasn't on, so he figured she wasn't in there. He got up, and got dressed to make his way out into the living room. What he saw made his heart soar for the woman on the couch who sat holding his son to her as she stoked her hand through his hair.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Good morning." She replied.

"What are you two doing out here?"

"Nightmare."

"Again?" She nodded and he sighed. "Okay, but why are you guys out here?"

"Oh. I apparently slept too much yesterday, and I woke up around three. I came out here for a snack," she pointed to the bag of chips, and he let out a chuckle, "Parker came out of his room not too long after that. I told him to come out here with me, so that he wouldn't wake you up. We talked for a bit. I got him to tell me what his dream was about."

"He told you?" This woman never ceased to amaze him. She had actually gotten his son to open up about something so personal and so emotional. "That's great." He whispered.

"Yes. He did tell me, but he doesn't want me to tell you the details. I think it would be best if you waited him out. He may tell you on his own, but I don't think you should push the issue."

"No, I agree. I understand where he is coming from. I've been exactly where he is at right now. The only difference being that I really didn't have anyone to talk to about it. I didn't really feel like I could talk to Pops about it because dad was his son, ya know. I just couldn't do that to him. I'm glad he told someone. I'm glad it was you. I can't say that I don't wish he talked to me about it, but like you said, he might still talk to me. How'd you get him to do it?" He asked as he stroked his hand down her arm.

"I just told him that I have nightmares, too. Mostly about the Gravedigger, and that it always helps me to talk to you about them. I said that our minds make these dreams out of our subconscious fears, and sometimes it helps if you aren't the only one aware of the burden of those fears."

"You have an amazing heart, Bones. I can't wait until you're my wife. I love you so much, baby." He placed his lips on hers for a kiss.

"I also suggested that maybe some martial arts classes would be a good idea. I told him that after I got out of the system, one of the first things I did was take a self defense class. It helped me to gain some control back after everything that happened. It also helped me to develop a disciplined focus on other aspects in my life because I was not constantly afraid or distracted."

"I think that is a good idea." He kissed her cheek, and then leaned his forehead against hers. "I hope Rebecca will be okay with it. It honestly wouldn't hurt if she took some, too."

"You're right. She might go for it. I could talk to her about it, if you want." She suggested.

"Would you? She might take the suggestion better if it came from you rather than from me."

"Yes. You know, you would be very good at martial arts, too. As a sniper, you already have the discipline and focus that it takes. You would advance very quickly."

"You want to turn this into a family kind of thing?" He asked with a huge smile.

"We could all start going together, including Rebecca if she would be up for the idea. It's only once a week for an hour. I still go to my class on Tuesday nights, and I know they still have openings at the Academy."

"Sure, Bones. I think it will be cool to all do something like this together. Just, don't push yourself too much."

"I won't. I haven't been sparring with anyone since we found out I am pregnant. I am not the only pregnant person that has ever been enrolled at the Academy of Martial Arts. There are several different types of martial arts at the school to choose from. I am currently taking a slow movement form called Tai Chi, and it focuses on relaxation and has proven to be very useful to pregnant women. I switched over when we found out about the baby."

"Good. Thank you for taking care of yourself." He kissed her once more. "So, maybe it's time to start getting ready for the day."

She nodded her head, and gently woke Parker up so that he could start getting ready for school. Booth decided to let them get ready while he fixed some French toast for breakfast. They all ate and got ready just in time to get everyone where they needed to be on time. Booth dropped Parker off at school, and then dropped Brennan off at the lab before dropping by the jewelers to purchase the wedding band that Brennan told him about in her letter.

He then decided to call Jared and Pops to let them in on the fact that he was now engaged and Brennan was going to make an honest man of him.

At the lab, Brennan headed straight for Limbo upon arrival. She wanted to get through the cases that Cam assigned her yesterday before starting anything else for the day. She quickly waded through the stack of files, and identified a few of them from dentals and medical records as well as documenting the causes of death.

After a little while, Angela commandeered her best friend from Limbo and dragged her into the artist's office to show her a few things.

"Ange, this is too much! We want simple. We just want a normal wedding. Please don't turn this into a circus."

"It won't be a circus; the ceremony and decorations will be modest and simple, but the reception is going to be a little more than that. You said yourself that Booth said Parker could wear his costume to the reception. Well, that got me thinking a little bit. We should totally all turn this into a Halloween costume themed reception. It would be completely unique, and it would make up for the fact that we would all be missing the annual Halloween party at the Jeffersonian."

"I don't know…"

"Aw, come on, Sweetie! You could go as the Bride of Frankenstein. That would be cool."

"Great, as if I didn't get called Morticia enough in high school. Absolutely not, Ange!"

"I…I wasn't thinking. Look, we could find something else. I just figured Booth would make a good Frankenstein; he's built for the part, he's tall and broad, and I figured since you're the bride and all that it would be fun if you were the _Bride _of Frankenstein. You know what, never mind."

Brennan took a second to consider Booth dressed as Frankenstein. "When you put it that way, it is kind of clever, but I don't know if Booth would go for this idea."

"Sure he would. This is Booth we are talking about here. You know, the quirky guy who wears crazy socks and ties, a Cocky belt buckle, and Vans with his suit. Trust me; he will love this idea."

"Okay, I am fine with it as long as you talk to him about it first."

"Certainly. I will call him later or talk to him when he comes to pick you up later." Angela was silent for a few moments before bringing up her next thought. "Bren, what about the church? Is Booth going to be allowed to marry you there? I just…you don't exactly believe in God, Sweetie, and the Catholic Church can be…"

"I know. We have already discussed this. Booth says that marriage to a non-Christian requires dispensation, and then the marriage is valid and can be performed in the church. Having never been Baptized, I will not be allowed to participate in Sacrament. The marriage would be considered natural instead of Sacramental. I think he was going to look into that today after he picks up my ring from the jeweler."

"Well, you guys have thought about almost everything, haven't you?"

"Well, not quite, but we have put a lot of thought into this. We have a good start on knowing what we want. I just need your help with the specific details such as: the color schemes, the decorations and flower arrangements, invitations, musicians for the ceremony, menu for the reception, the cakes, entertainment for the reception, and the attire for the wedding party. There is just so much to get done."

"Okay, some of this stuff will take just a simple phone call to get set up. We can go shopping at a bridal store for the attire. It might be a good idea to get the color scheme set first, though. Then pick the color for the bride's maids' dresses. You might want to wait until the week of the wedding to get your dress. It would not be a good idea to purchase a dress that may not fit in a few weeks."

"True. That doesn't mean that I can't take a look and get an idea of what I want though."

"No, it wouldn't hurt to do that." She smiled and squealed. "You are going to be a beautiful bride, Bren."

"I do have visually pleasing and structurally strong and proportional features which would rate me quite high on the golden ratio." Brennan said in all seriousness.

"Bren, you just wouldn't be the same if your didn't, I don't know, say things like that." Angela laughed.

**B&B**

"Knock, knock, Bones. You ready to go?" Booth said from the doorway to Brennan's office as she was finishing up some paperwork for the day.

"Have a seat. I am almost finished." She replied.

"Almost finished as in a few minutes or as in the Temperance Brennan version of almost finished?"

"Just a few minutes." She signed the page she just finished and then looked up. "I talked to Rebecca today. She dropped by here for a few minutes earlier after she picked Parker up from school. She said she would be very interested in taking martial arts with us, and she seemed very supportive of the idea for Parker as well."

"That's great. Thanks, babe. That makes me feel so much better about her being all alone."

"Speaking of alone, she offered to take Parker for the night to give us some time together. She feels bad for just dropping Parker onto us like this. I think she misses him, too. Maybe some time together will help both of them. I told her that he had the same nightmare two nights in a row so that she wouldn't be surprised if it happens again."

Booth walked around her desk and over to her. He spun her chair around where he could gently lift her from her seated position and into his arms. Once she was secured in his strong arms, he kissed the crown of her head and told her, "Thank you for being there for my son. You are going to make…no, let me rephrase that. You _are_ a great mother. God, Bones. I love you so much." He kissed her again.

"I am not his mother. At most, I will only ever be his step mother."

"No, hush. Bones, don't say that. This family that we have right here, we don't do the whole step parent thing. While you aren't his biological mother, from the actions I have seen from you so far with him, you act like his mother. That is so important, Bones. _So important._ The title isn't important. The fact is that you are a mother figure to him. Your maternal instincts are so strong. Don't ever doubt yourself."

Booth couldn't see her face, but he knew. He knew that he had made her cry. It wasn't what he was aiming for, but it was how he knew he got his point across to her. It was how he knew she had heard and processed every word he said.

"Let's go home, Mama Bones."

**B&B**

They fell into a sweaty heap of shaky limbs and both tried desperately to replenish their oxygen supply after spending every ounce of energy.

"Wow." Brennan gasped, as she turned her face back toward his for a kiss.

"No shit!" He breathed out on a sigh. "Damn, Bones. I think I might have just died a little bit there."

She laid her head on his chest. "Shhh. Stop talking. I can't hear your heartbeat if you're talking."

"What? Don't Shhh me!" He laughed, knowing it would tick her off that he had defied her. She glared up at him. His eyebrows shot up at her dead serious face. "Why is it so important for you to hear my heartbeat?"

She didn't say anything; she just simply pressed her lips to the puckered scar on his chest. It wasn't morning, but that didn't seem important right now. She closed her eyes and pressed another kiss to the scar before resting her ear right back over his heart.

After several minutes had passed and both of their respiration rates had normalized, she spoke, "Please don't talk about dying. I almost lost you before I even had you. It's just…when you say things like that, joking or not, it crushes my heart. Metaphorically, of course."

"I'm sorry, Temperance. I didn't realize my words would affect you like that. I'm sorry, baby." He leaned down and kissed the hair on her head where he could reach before he sighed into her hair. "I'm sorry."

"I'm fine now. I just needed a minute. Ready to go again?" She asked, perking back up a little.

"Jesus, Bones! Give a guy a minute to recover. I'm not Gumby!"

"Hey, I know what Gumby is!"

"Aw, I kinda wanted to explain that one." He pouted slightly.

She playfully slapped his chest. "Ready yet?"

"Impatient?"

"Maybe; we haven't had much time to ourselves the past couple of days. Now?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure you didn't turn my bones to jelly a few minutes ago. Baby, I don't think I can move yet."

"Okay." She said in a very peppy tone. She got up out of bed, and walked naked out of the room.

"Bones? Where are you going? Shit, how can you move? I just gave you what seemed like three earth shattering orgasms, and you can still move? I must not have done my job right!" This motivated him to get moving. He thrashed until he was free from the sheets, and he ran after her. When he rounded the corner, she jumped out and Booth nearly had a heart attack.

She ran down the hall and he chased after her, both running through the house stark naked.

They made several rounds around the furniture before Booth gave up the chase. "It's a good thing you aren't a suspect; I would never give up this easily!"

"Then why did you?" She asked with her eyes narrowed at him.

"Because, I don't think we should be horsing around like this. What if you were to slip and fall, or run into something? Baby, we need to be more careful. I shouldn't have started chasing you."

"I'm fine, Booth. You ready yet?"

"Haha, yeah. Bones. I'm ready now."

She practically mauled him right then and there, sending him stumbling back into the wall and shaking the picture frames on the wall.

"Careful, Bones. If you injure my back you—"

She cut him off when she sent her lips crashing into his leaving him no choice but to respond. He trailed his mouth from her mouth down her jaw line to her throat and then down to her chest.

Booth turned them around and pressed her to the wall a little more roughly than he intended to. He took his lips from her breast long enough to say, "Sorry," but quickly got back to work ravishing her deliciously full breasts.

"Booth." Her voice was low and laced with need.

"Patience, Temperance."

"No, if I was willing to be patient, do you think I would have pinned you to the wall? Fuck me now. Just lose control."

It wasn't often he heard her talk like that, but when she did, he knew she meant business.

"Bones, I don't want to hurt you. I know you like it when I get a little rough, but I don't know if I—"

Her hands fell from his shoulder blades down to her side and clenched tightly into fists. "Damn it, Booth. You are not going to hurt me."

"Bones…"

"Booth! Come on." She whined. Then she ran her index finger across his clavicle from his arm toward the center of his chest and her voice changed down to a low purr as she used her Roxy voice, "Come on, show Roxy what makes Tony the Tiger come out to play."

"Not much, baby. The Tiger's already about to pounce!" He growled into her neck as he went back to his ministrations on her chest for a few more seconds of free play time with her breasts. Then he reached his hands down around her backside and grabbed an ass cheek in each hand as he hiked her up and she brought her legs around his waist.

He shifted her to where she hovered right over his erection and then he shoved himself in, knowing she was ready for him. He didn't give her time to adjust. She wanted it rough. She used her Roxy persona against him. She was going to get what she wanted. He was going to give her what she wanted. Truth be told, whether she was Temperance Brennan or Roxy, he was so wrapped around her finger. Totally whipped. She was going to get what she wanted anyway; because there is no way he could deny her what she wanted. Within reason of course.

Her moans and screams echoed and bounced off of the walls and floors as they mixed with his feral growls and grunts. He brought his hand up to keep her head from bouncing off of the wall as his thrusts got more aggressive. He hiked her up a little higher and the new angle quickly sent them both careening down into a deep abyss of total oblivion. They slide down the wall, both helpless and unable to move.

* * *

**Tony/Roxy=Rawr! ^o^**

**Review**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	26. Cleaning Up

**Here is the next update. R&R**

* * *

It was the afternoon on Friday and Brennan was in her office reflecting on the events of the night before as she was writing her next chapter when her phone rang. She looked at the display to see that it was Russ. She flipped the phone open, very glad that her brother was calling her.

"Russ!" Brennan exclaimed into the phone.

"_Tempe_!_ How's my little sis doing_?" He asked.

"I'm doing great. What about you and the girls?"

"_I am doing great. I just got off of work. TGIF_!"

"I don't know what that means."

"_Thank God it's Friday_?_ Come on, Tempe, surely if you haven't used it before, you have at least heard it_."

"No. Fridays are a fairly common occurrence, and I don't see any point in thanking a higher being, that doesn't exist, for a day that happens so often."

"_Okay, can of worms opened and dumped everywhere…change of subject. Amy is doing great. We had an appointment yesterday. We found out that we're gonna have another girl. I was kind of hoping for a boy since I am swimming in estrogen over here, but will take it_."

"Russ, that's great! I wish I could hug you." Since being pregnant, Brennan had become more of a touchy feely person. She was always hugging or wanted to be hugged. Most often she sought out the warmth and security of Booth's strong arms, but occasionally if he was not available, Cam, Jack, or Angela were nice substitutes.

"_That's kind of why I called, Tempe. You can give me a hug later when we get there. We are loading the car right now to come to D.C. I was sort of hoping that we could stay with you and Booth. If not, we can find a place to stay. We just need to know where we are going when we get there_."

"Of course you can stay with us. Parker is living with us, so it will be a tight squeeze, but don't worry, we will figure out how we will get everyone in here before you guys arrive." She looked up to see Booth enter the office. "Hey, Russ. Booth just got here to take me home. I will see you guys in a few hours."

"_Okay, love you, Tempe. See you soon_."

"I love you, too, Russ. Bye"

She shut her computer down, and grabbed her stuff quickly. "Let's go home. We have some uge messes to clean up before Parker gets home and before my bother gets here. Actually, we need to clean every room before they get there. We managed to knock things on the floor in the living room, not to mention the trail of clothes we left from the kitchen to the bedroom from when we got home yesterday. Oh, and the cheese is going to be a nightmare."

"Hello to you, too."

She stopped at the door of her office, and as she turned back to face him, he was right there. She immediately crashed into his chest and his arms went around her as their lips met. After she pulled back, she turned to start walking again. "Hello, Booth. Now, let's go."

It took him a second to gather his bearings after the scorching kiss, and she was almost to the double glass doors of the lab when he started jogging after her. As he whipped passed Cam's office he heard her yell, "Stop running in the lab, g-man!"

"Wait, Bones! Jesus Christ, slow down."

"Seeley, my brother is coming to stay with us for the weekend, and Parker will be home soon. Do you honestly want them all to see the evidence of our little…sexcapade around the apartment from yesterday?"

"No."

"Then hurry up. Because the only room we don't have something to clean up is Parker's."

**B&B**

"This will go a lot faster if we split up, Booth. You take the kitchen, the bathroom, and the office. I will get the living room, our room, and the dining room." Brennan said.

"Okay, let me just put on some tunes, and we will get started." He walked over to their combined CD collection, and started perusing the shelf. He selected one, and put it in with a _shit-eating-grin_ on his face. It started to play and the sounds and Foreigner filled the room after he turned it up. "How about we listen to a guilty pleasure as we clean up after _our guilty pleasures_?"

He waggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes at him.

Booth got to work on the kitchen. After their little _hot-and-sweaty-against-the-wall_ moment last night they decided they needed to have dinner. The dinner consisted of macaroni and cheese which ended up being eaten much as their pancake dinner had a few nights before. There was cheese all over the counter and barstools, hand prints everywhere, footprints on the floor. There were a few dishes left out. Some of them had dried macaroni stuck to it. Then, there were also a few random articles of clothing strewn about: shoes, socks, high heels, and a silk tie. As he picked up the clothing, he went ahead and followed the trail all the way from the kitchen, where it started, to the where it ended in the bedroom.

He deposited the clothes in the hamper, and decided to start on the hall bathroom. He took the mop from the kitchen, and used it as he went down the hallway cleaning up all of the macaroni footsteps as he went. "Babe, be careful in the hallway; I just mopped," he shouted the warning receiving an, "Okay," in response. He cleaned the shower and the sink, and decided it wouldn't hurt to clean the toilet, too, since Parker was a little less than accurate with his aim sometimes.

He walked into the home office, and for the first time really noticed the damage they did to the room. When he had unceremoniously cleared the desk trying to make space for them, he had shoved off files from the Jeffersonian and FBI. All of the papers laid mingled and mixed on the floor. For now he just gathered all of the papers into a neat pile. Later they would have to sit down together and figure out where each sheet of paper belonged. He had also apparently knocked over the paper shredder; paper shreds covered the floor. After he picked up the big pieces he went to get the vacuum to pick up the smaller ones.

Brennan worked on the living room, picking up the pillows from the couch that were on the floor, as well as picking up the things they knocked off of the shelf when they bumped into it. She straightened the couch cushions and pictures hanging on the walls, and then vacuumed the area rug. She put all of the remotes where they belong, and folded the blanket and draped it over the back of the couch.

The dining room was also covered in dried cheese as they had migrated during that particular little session. At some point after being on the kitchen counter they moved to the dining room table. Booth had apparently already mopped up the foot prints from the floor. She got to work on removing the hand and body prints from the table.

She then made her way to the bedroom where the sheets were practically coming off of the bed, and there were pillows everywhere. Booth had already picked up the clothes from the floor and placed them in the hamper. She gathered all of the sheets, and put them in the hamper. She grabbed some fresh sheets from the linen closet, and re-made the bed. She started a load of laundry, and then decided to take a shower. As she was in the shower she was going over the possible sleeping arrangements in her head. She found a plausible solution, and then decided to make sure that Parker's room was in decent shape. She changed the sheets on his bed, and then went to go sit on the couch next to Booth, who was now taking a little snooze.

"Good work, partner." He mumbled.

"Were we really that careless yesterday to leave such a mess?" She asked.

"You wouldn't believe the mess we left in the office unless I hadn't taken a picture before I cleaned it up." He fished his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "It's like it freaking snowed paper in there."

"Did you get all of that paper cleaned up?"

"I think I have the paper cuts to prove it, and uh…there is a stack of papers we will need to go through together later. We dumped some files on the floor, and they got all mixed up. I can't tell what goes where."

"Okay, we can do that later tonight. I think I have the sleeping arrangements all figured out. Russ and Amy can take our room. You and I can take Parker's room. It might be a tight fit, but I like to sleep close to you, so that shouldn't be a problem. We can put some sleeping bags in here on the floor for the kids."

"Sounds good, but why can't we have our own bed, and let Russ and Amy take Parker's?" He asked.

By the look on her face, it was clear that she thought he wasn't using his brain to full capacity. "Booth, Amy is far more pregnant than I am. Do you really think it is practical to give her less space?"

"No, I guess not, but you need space, too."

"Are you calling me fat?"

"What? No! Baby, listen. I just meant that it won't be good for you to be all cramped up either. You have become a little more restless lately. You don't like to lie still in the same position for very long. I have an idea. It isn't ideal for Russ or me, but it will be beneficial to both you and Amy."

"It's a good thing you are good with words, because if you were calling me fat, Seeley Booth, you would be sleeping on the couch; end of story."

"I, uh, don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not. Now, can I give you my idea or not?"

"Go on. I'm listening."

"Russ and I can pull out the couch, and sleep there, the kids' sleeping bags can be put in Parker's room, and you and Amy can take our bed. Would that work?"

"I suppose, but what about your back?"

"My back will be fine. I have that memory foam mattress cover from my apartment rolled up in the closet. That coupled with some pillows strategically placed, and I should be able to sleep anywhere."

She leaned into him and he reached over to grab one of the remotes. "I think the Flyers are playing right now, let's see if we can find it on TV while we wait for them to show up." Booth said.

Not long after Rebecca showed up with Parker. Brennan told her that she had signed them all up to attend the Academy on Tuesday nights. She also invited her to stay for dinner, but Rebecca declined. She was going to go out for some much need fun and girl time with a few of her friends. She quickly said her goodbyes and left the three of them to sit there watching the game. Father and son were both yelling at the TV with Booth's words being slightly more colorful than was appropriate at times. Each time, Brennan turned to Parker to tell him not to repeat those words.

* * *

**It was a little shorter than usual, but hey, it didn't take me five days to update this time. :) **

**I hope you enjoyed the little glimpse of the aftermath from the sexcapade during their alone time.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	27. Don't Call Me Bonsey Bear

**-Ducks- **

**Stop throwing things. I know it's been several days. I'm sorry. I just figured it might be a good idea to get my lesson plans typed up and submitted for the next week so that I don't get fired for being a lazy bum. **

**This one is a little longer to make up for the time gap.**

* * *

The game had just ended and Booth was very upset that his favorite team did not win. He knew he would have to quickly shelve his anger and dissatisfaction with the impending arrival of their weekend guests. He knew that he would be genuinely happy when they arrived, but for now he was still pissed. He shut off the TV so he didn't have to sit through the interviews and the announcers singing the praises of the Blue Jackets.

Booth tossed his two empty beer bottles in the trash, and then went to the fridge to grab another one for himself when there was a knock at the door.

Parker stampeded to the door yelling, "I'll get it!"

"No! Parker, ask who it is first. You don't just go ripping the door open when there is a knock!" Booth yelled as he ran after his kid.

Parker already had the door open, and it was stopped by the chain that was latched at the top. He tried to jump to reach it. "Dad, it's Dr. Bones' brother and some girls."

"Alright, step back so I can get the chain unlatched to open the door." Booth closed the door momentarily to unlatch the chain and then welcomed the family into the living room. "Sorry about that, Russ. Come in you guys. Parker, these girls are family. You met awhile ago when we brought the Christmas tree to the trailer, but if you don't remember, this is Amy and her daughters Hayley and Emma. And of course you have met Russ a few times."

"Hi," Parker said.

"Hi, Parker," the girls replied.

"Do you guys want to go play tennis or bowling on my Wii?"

"Yeah," Hayley replied, grabbing Emma's arm and dragging her along."

Russ looked into the kitchen, "Where's Tempe?"

"She is lying down for a bit. The Flyers game just ended; I think she was sick of hearing me and Parker yell at the TV. I can go let her know you are here. She needs to wake up now if she plans on getting any sleep tonight anyway."

"No, I will go back and let her know I'm here if it's okay." Russ said.

"Yeah, sure. Just a warning, she may be grumpy when you wake her up. Hey, Amy, do you want anything to drink. Bones has all kinds of these girly herbal teas that you might like." Booth offered.

"Yes, I do. But first, I need to make a stop in the restroom. Poor Russ had to stop every half hour on the way up here."

"How far along are you now?" Booth asked.

"Almost thirty-three weeks." Amy replied as she walked to the restroom, and then followed Booth into the kitchen to assist him in getting her drink, and getting something for the girls as well.

Russ walked quietly into their bedroom, and when he stuck his head in the door he gently said, "Marco."

She rolled over and looked up to her brother, who was now standing over her. "Polo." She replied with a smile. She sat up and took a second before standing so as not to make herself dizzy by moving too fast. "Russ, I'm so glad you're here." She mumbled into his shoulder as she hugged him tightly.

"And Booth said you would be cranky." He laughed.

"No, I'm only cranky when he wakes me up from a nap, because he gets a running start from the doorway and leaps onto the bed and scares the shit out of me sometimes." She stepped out of his arms and gently tugged his hand for him to follow her out into the kitchen to join Booth and Amy. "Not a very nice way to treat the woman you love, if you ask me." She said as they entered the kitchen.

Booth caught the end of her statement. "What was that?"

"The way you wake me up from my naps. It isn't very nice." She said pointedly.

"Yeah, well. Call it getting you used to being woken up by kids. That's how Parker used to wake me up." He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her to rest his hands on her little bump. "This kid is a Booth, and I wouldn't expect any less from her, as well."

"The baby could just as easily be a boy, Booth. We have been over this."

"For your sake, you should probably hope for a girl. I'm not sure you can handle three Booth boys." Booth joked.

"You don't know what you're having, yet?" Russ asked eyeing his little sister's adorable tummy.

"No, it was still a little too early at our last scan. We hit fifteen weeks tomorrow, and we have a scan scheduled for next Friday." Brennan replied.

"Do you want to find out?" Amy asked.

"Yes." Booth answered.

"We would like to be prepared for the arrival. I hate not being prepared." Brennan said.

Brennan walked over to the fridge to pull out a package of hamburger meat and a package of hotdogs. The light bounced off of Brennan's ring, and caught the eyes of her brother.

"Tempe! Is that mom's ring?" He said on a gasp.

She bit her lip. She had forgotten that she had not told her brother about her engagement. So many things had happened this past week that she had lost track of who knew and who didn't.

"Yes. We are engaged." She said looking into her brother's eyes.

"Max gave me her mother's ring." Booth added.

"When, why didn't you tell me?" She didn't miss the hurt in her brother's voice.

"I will tell you later, if Booth doesn't mind you knowing. It is a long story. It happened last Sunday." She looked to Booth, and he nodded lightly understanding that she needed to let Russ know that he was not left out on purpose. Everything had been put on the backburner because of Brent's sorry ass.

"Actually, baby, I can tell him while we are outside on the balcony cooking." Booth kissed her temple.

"Okay." She moved from Booth's arms, and went over to hug Russ again. "I can't tell you enough, just how happy I am that you are here."

Russ let her step out slightly, and he rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "I am so glad I got the chance to get away. We were actually planning on staying with dad, but he suggested that I give you a call instead." He looked down to her little bump and back up to her face.

"Go ahead. Everyone else does." She rolled her eyes slightly as she gave a little laugh.

His face beamed, and he reached down to touch her tummy. "Tempe, you're going to be a mom."

"I know." She said as her eyes started tearing up. "Sorry," she swiped at the forming tears before they could roll down her cheeks. "I can't help it. Damn hormones."

"It's okay, Temperance. I have been the same way throughout this pregnancy. I'm sure Russ is used to it by now." Amy said trying to console Brennan.

"Yeah, you could say that." Russ agreed. "But it's all worth every tear. Being a parent is such a wonderful thing. I love Amy's girls like they are my own, but I am really excited about having my own, too."

"I know exactly how you feel, Russ. While Parker isn't mine, I do love him as much as I already love my own developing child."

Booth's heart swelled at his fiancé's words. He wasn't sure it was even possible to love her anymore than he already did, but she kept proving him wrong every chance she got.

"Okay, I hate to break the moment, but we really need to get the food cooked before there is no daylight left to cook by." Booth said softly.

"Go ahead; Amy and I will get the salads ready. Let us know when it is almost done so that we can get the kids washed up for dinner."

**B&B**

The kids were all washed up, and everything was getting placed and was ready for everyone to start digging in.

Brennan fixed her salad, and poured her dressing on her salad when she realized that she had left her tea on the kitchen counter. "Booth, can you go in and grab my tea off of the counter, please."

"Sure , babe." He placed a slice of tomato and a piece of cheese on his burger, and then stood to go get her drink.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he returned to. There were several giggles coming from the kids, and a few from Russ and Amy as well. He sat down to notice that his burger and Brennan's salad had traded places on the table. He looked down at the salad that was sitting at his place setting. "Bones, what the…" he trailed off remembering the little ears in the vicinity. He looked up to see her digging in to his juicy cheeseburger. The look on his face was halfway between amused that she was eating meat and disappointed that it was his burger she was devouring. "Uh, Bones?"

"Hmm?" She asked through a mouthful of food.

"That's not one of your nasty Boca Burgers, that's one hundred percent real beef."

"I know." She said matter-of-factly.

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, which I am fairly sure that I am not, vegetarians do not eat meat." Booth said.

"You're right. People who maintain a vegetarian diet do not generally eat meat. While I have done this for the past few years, I have been known to make the occasional exception. I feel like I need the protein that is only obtainable through the consumption of meat, whereas I know you need to watch your cholesterol and fat intake."

"Bones! Will you at least half it with me?"

"Do they do this all the time?" Hayley asked Parker.

"Yeah," he responded. "But do you see how my dad's eyes are bright, and he is trying not to smile?"

"Yes," Hayley and Emma responded in unison.

"It means he doesn't really care. He is just joking around with her. I think he is actually glad she is eating something that isn't what he calls _rabbit food_."

"Okay, I can half it with you, but you get the half that I have already taken two bites from." She gloated as she handed him a piece."

"Gee, thanks, Bones." Booth said. He really was looking forward to his cheeseburger.

"Do you want a hot dog, dad?" Parker asked holding out the plate.

"Sure, buddy." He took one and placed it on a bun. "Thanks. Bones, this is mine. Hands off," he said as he fixed his hot dog up with his favorite condiments.

For the first time during dinner, the partners were actually not tuned into only each other, and Russ took advantage of that fact.

"So, when is the wedding?" He asked.

"October 31st." Brennan replied. "Angela and I are going to work on invitations and planning tomorrow. Would you like to help us with that, Amy?"

"Sure. Sounds like fun."

"What are we going to do?" Booth asked with a little bit of a pout, knowing that if Angela was involved that their wedding planning activities would likely take the whole day.

"Surely there are some cool places around here that you and Parker can show the girls and me." Russ said. "I've always wanted to take the girls to the National Zoo, but it might be too cool tomorrow to go."

"Well, this complex has an indoor pool. We could spend some time down there. The Jeffersonian has a few really cool exhibits. The girls may enjoy seeing where Aunt Tempe works. Parker loves the place. It's so big, I'm sure we can find something there that the boy hasn't seen yet."

"Good luck, dad. Max has taken me _everywhere_." Parker said in an overly animated tone.

"Oh, then I guess you wouldn't want to go with us then." Booth teased.

"Hey! Yes I do!" Parker exclaimed. "Even if I have seen everything, it is still _the coolest_ place on earth."

"Bub, why don't you start clearing away some of the empty plates and trash from the table." Booth said.

"Yes, sir." Parker replied.

"We can help." Emma said, elbowing Hayley to get her to agree, too.

"Yeah, we will help." Hayley added.

"While the kids are doing that, Bones and Amy can go relax on the couch for awhile." Booth stated, hoping Brennan caught the implication that she was not to be helping with clean up. She had done enough of that during the day.

And of course she did not.

"I will get the dishes done really quickly." Brennan said as she stood.

"No, baby. You go relax in the living room. I will get the dishes. There aren't very many since we decided to use mostly paper plates. I will do them." Booth's statement was more of an order than an offer, which Brennan did not appreciate very much.

"Booth, if there isn't very many, just let me do them. It will not be a problem." Brennan retorted.

"Temperance…" Booth said sternly.

"Seeley…" Brennan's reply came back just as sternly and stubbornly.

_Oh, shit. First names. _Russ thought to himself. "Amy, honey, you go to the living room. I will try to settle this." He kissed her cheek before she walked out.

Russ clapped his hands between the two partners to get their attention off of themselves for a change.

"Okay, here is the deal. Tempe, you are not doing the dishes, and wipe that smug look off of your face Booth. You aren't doing them either. I will. You both go into the living room and relax. I will have one of the kids dry them for me. Now, go." He pointed.

"Russ! You are not doing the dishes. You are a guest in my house." Brennan said.

"_Our_ house." Booth added.

"I'm family, not a guest. Besides, it's the least I can do for my pregnant little sister. Just let me do this for you."

"I'm pregnant, not disabled." Brennan crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm not saying you are. I just—look, Tempe, you look a little frayed around the edges. Stress isn't good for you right now." He lowered his voice. "I know with everything that happened this last week and with your wedding in less than two weeks you are probably going to have more stress than you already should."

Parker eventually stepped in and used his Booth charm to settle the issue for everyone. He did the dishes while Emma dried them and Hayley put them away. Since they had a late dinner, it was time for bed not long after the dishes were finally done and put away.

Booth and Brennan made sure the kids all had a sleeping bag and plenty of pillows and blankets in Parker's room for the night. Booth made sure Parker's sleeping bag was near the door so that the girls wouldn't be stepped on if he needed to leave the room.

Rebecca said that he didn't have any nightmares the night before, but Booth wondered if maybe Parker did have one and he just didn't tell her because she was also abused by Brent. He knew his son would be sensitive to that and he wouldn't want to cause his mother more pain by bringing it up because of a nightmare.

Brennan made sure that Booth and Russ both had plenty of room on the pull out couch. She offered to switch places with Russ, but Booth demanded that she just go sleep with Amy in the bed.

"Booth, your back!" She tried to argue.

"Bones, if I had a choice of my back hurting or yours, I would choose to have mine hurt. Besides, we have been over this. With this mattress pad and a few pillows in the right spot, I should be fine."

"Tempe, he's right. This really isn't that bad. The memory foam makes it fairly comfortable."

"If it isn't that bad, then you can just trade with me. Go sleep with Amy, and I can sleep with Booth."

"Listen, baby, I know I'm irresistible, but we have a house full of people and I am not letting my pregnant fiancé sleep on the pull out just in case it does turn out to not be so comfortable later."

Brennan was surprised that Booth would make such an opening statement, and in front of her brother no less. So much so, that she was rendered a little speechless. She had no clue what to say to that. "Fine. No kiss for you." She walked away and into the bedroom, where Amy had long ago retired to.

"Wow. Even more stubborn than I remember her." Russ commented.

"No kidding. Everything is a battle. I think she does some of it on purpose."

"We used to fight like that all of the time, although she never threatened to not kiss me as a punishment for losing." He laughed.

"If I didn't know better, I would say she recently watched the Soup Nazi episode of Seinfeld."

The two men laughed, and said goodnight. They rolled and faced away from each other and in the back of their minds hoped they didn't wake up snuggled up next to each other.

**B&B**

The next morning, the two men, thankfully, did not wake up in each others' arms as they had feared they would. Booth was the first to arise. He went to the kitchen, and put on a pot of coffee before heading towards the bathroom to pee, shave, and shower before everyone else woke up and hogged the bathroom.

He decided to use the bathroom in the hallway rather than the master so that he didn't wake up the two beautiful women that were currently sleeping in the room. When he was done with his shower he realized he made an oversight. He didn't grab a clean pair of boxers. He cursed himself, and not wanting to put on dirty clothes, he wrapped himself in a towel. He poked his head out of the door and looked around. Thankfully, it didn't seem like anyone else was up yet. Then, he padded softly into their room and quietly opened a drawer and pulled out a clean pair of boxers and a pair of sweat pants. He also grabbed his Flyers t-shirt, and then quickly went back into the hall bathroom to get dressed.

When he turned into the kitchen he almost had a heart attack. He wasn't expecting to see anyone in there because he thought everyone was asleep.

"Jesus!" He gasped. "Amy, what are you doing awake?" He asked

"I smelled coffee and I heard you come in the room and dig around in some dresser drawers. I'm a light sleeper. I'm so used to sleeping on my stomach that this whole pregnancy thing has kind of knocked me for a loop in the sleeping department. I don't get much sleep with all of the movement the little guy is doing anyway."

"Uh, sorry about that." He apologized.

"No, don't be. You weren't such a bad sight to wake up to." She said teasingly.

His eyebrows shot up. "You saw? I just needed some clean clothes." He voice wavered. _Certainly, my future sister-in-law wasn't trying to make a move on me!_

"No, I'm not coming on to you. It was just a compliment. Temperance is a very lucky woman."

He relaxed by a lot after that statement. The last thing he needed was Russ's wife pining over him two weeks before his wedding.

"Whew!" He laughed. "For a second, I was worried."

"Man, that coffee smells so good. I wish I could have some." She said changing the subject.

"Actually, you can. It's decaf. I'm a morning person, so I don't really need the caffeine early in the day. I just brew the decaf in the morning for the taste and since Bones can't have the real stuff. I mostly get regular coffee during the day to keep me fresh. It's Bones who really needs caffeine in the mornings. Just a warning, especially since you plan on spending the day with her and Angela."

She poured herself a cup of coffee. "Oh, God. This tastes amazing."

"Hey, I thought I heard voices in here." Russ said as he walked into the kitchen scratching his stomach with one hand and trying to smooth down his bed head with the other. "Mmm, is there enough coffee for me?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure. It's decaf though." Booth said.

"Oh, right. I bet Tempe hates that." Russ replied knowing his sister's affinity for caffeine that started well before their family left her.

"I can set this aside for her and brew a regular pot if you want." Booth offered.

"Nah. I'm used to the same at home because of Amy. We can just grab some real coffee while we are out doing stuff later. No big deal."

"Okay. I'm going to go wake up Bones. Russ, could you could get the kids up?" Booth asked

"Sure."

"Baby, it's time to wake up." Booth said as he went to lay by her. He started kissing up her neck from her collarbone to her jaw.

"No kiss for you." She mumbled.

"Come on. Time to wake up. Everyone else is awake and ready to start the day. You have a busy day with Angela and Amy. The sooner you wake up, the sooner you can prepare yourself for that."

"Ugh, no." She buried her face into her pillow, and then reached her arm out to shove him away.

"Bones, stop being a grumpy pants. We have company. Come out and be social."

"Uh uh. Get out."

"Bonesy Bear…

"Stop calling me that."

"If you keep acting like a cranky mean old bear in the mornings, then I'm going to call you Bonesy Bear."

"I will kick you in the testicles."

"Not if you want more children."

"Who says I do?"

"You're just being cranky. Bonesy—umph!" His next words we strained. "Jesus Christ, Bones! I was just messing with you."

"Well, don't be an idiot. Don't you know not to mess with bears?"

"I don't know if you're joking or if you're serious."

"Let me ask you a question. Did I actually kick you in the testicles or did I get your leg?"

"Leg."

"If I were serious, I would have kicked you in the testicles." She explained.

"Baby, that was a horrible joke, and they aren't supposed to hurt." He said rubbing his leg.

"Call it a warning. Don't call me Bonesy Bear."

"Okay, just get up." He got up and walked over to open the door when she started whining.

"Booooooooth. Where are you going? I didn't get my morning kiss yet." She pouted.

"Oh, well you said I don't get a kiss. Did you change your mind?" She nodded. "Okay, but you've got to get out of bed and come and get it." He said standing by the door with his arms held open.

"Fine."

**B&B**

Angela just arrived right as the men and kids were leaving to go to the museum and to a performance by the Blue Man Group.

"Okay, girls let's get started." Angela said as she dropped a bunch of magazines, and color samples on the coffee table.

"What's first?" Brennan asked.

"Wedding party. Who is what, sweetie?" Angela asked.

"Angela you are the Maid of Honor, as for other bridesmaids, let's go with Cam, Amy, Padme, Caroline, and Daisy."

"Wait! Caroline?" Angela asked.

"Yes, I kind of owe her for doing me a favor that isn't in her area of legal expertise."

"Oh, the marriage license." Angela realized knowing that there was nothing that woman did without asking for something in return.

"Yes."

"Okay, who else, sweetie?"

"Hayley and Emma can be flower girls, unless Emma feels like she is too old for the job. If so, she can be a bridesmaid."

"She will be fine as a flower girl. She just wants to be involved in some way. It won't matter to her." Amy added.

"Okay. The groomsmen will all be Jared, Russ, Jack, Wendell, and Dr. Sweets. Um, I would have to ask Booth who he picked as the Best Man, but it is probably between Jared and Jack."

"Okay, good. Color schemes. Before we can plan anything else, we need to know what colors you plan on using. Otherwise, we won't know what kind of flowers can be used in arrangements and which ones not to use." Angela explained.

"Okay. I really like royal purple. I think that would make a good color for the bridesmaids' dresses."

"Good choice. Now, do you want a shiny satin or a flat matte material?"

"Satin."

"What about other colors? You cannot just have purple." Amy said.

"Okay, well. I would like for my bouquet to be an arrangement of daffodils. So a bright yellow would be good." Brennan said.

"Good. Purple and yellow go well together. How about the bridesmaids each carry a different colored wild flower. Colors like orange, a deep red orange, yellow, purple, or I guess just colors that represent Fall. That seems to be where this color scheme is heading. Being October, it is appropriate. The girls can drop yellow rose pedals instead of white."

"Yes, Angela. That sounds good." Brennan replied.

"Okay, I know we cannot get you a dress yet, but do you plan on wearing white, a cream color, or something else entirely."

"White is traditionally representative of a pure bride, and being pregnant, I clearly am not a virgin." Brennan explained.

"Not anymore, Temperance. I wore white at my wedding to Russ, if you will remember." Amy said.

"Bren, she's right. It isn't just about symbolizing a pure bride anymore. All girls dream of getting married in a white dress. Didn't you?"

"Yes. I did. White it is then."

"What about Booth and the groomsmen?"

"Booth should wear a black tux with a satin purple vest that matches the bridesmaids' dresses, and a single daffodil boutonniere. The other guys, just black tuxes, and black bowties. Booth, will not be wearing a bowtie. I want just a regular tie, black. Also, I want him to wear a classy pair of white spats covering his black shoes. Is it wrong that I want him to be able to wear his Cocky belt buckle?"

**B&B**

"Did you guys have fun at the Space exhibit?"

"Yeah, dad; it was awesome! Did you guys see those moon rocks? They were actually on the moon once!" Parker exclaimed.

"We saw them." Russ said. "What did you girls think?"

"I was cool. I like the space ride simulator." Emma said.

"Me too!" Parker and Hayley said in unison.

"And I like the display about the first moonwalk. It's so cool they left an American flag in outer space!" Hayley said.

"Good. What do you say we drive by the Hoover? We can't go in because of security, but you can at least see the building I work in. You can see where the FBI does all of its business. After we do that, there a little restaurant we can have lunch at just down the street from here that is called Austin Grill. I like to go there, but we don't go very often because Bones is, or was, a vegetarian." _Hmmm, I wonder if she is going to keep eating meat or if that was just a onetime thing? _

"Yes!" Parker said excitedly. "We haven't been there in for-ev-er!" He exaggerated. "It's soooo, good. They have a whole bunch of Tex-Mex food. They have all kinds of barbeque and meat, and they also have some seriously spicy Mexican food!" The boy explained to Russ and the girls what the place had on its menu.

**B&B**

"So now that we have the color scheme set and all of the flower arrangements picked out, we need to decide on décor for the tables at the reception using the color scheme."

"Ange, does it really matter?" Brennan asked.

"Does it matter? Hell yes it matters."

"Okay. Why don't you just do what sounds good to you? You're the artist. Make it…pretty."

"Wait, that's the problem. If we are going with a costume theme for the reception, should we have flowers on the table or should we have eyeballs and kidneys?"

"Good question. So, scrap the color scheme for the reception. Just go with creepy. The kids will enjoy it, and it pretty much tells the story of our lives." Brennan decided. "Just, nothing too realistic, please. We deal with enough actual human remains. Booth still gets a little squeamish at crime scenes, and he flipped out the time that Parker found that human phalange."

"Okay, creepy, fake, anything else? How about costumes? I suggested Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, do you still want to do that?"

"Not really. I would like something a little more…us." Brennan said.

"Oh, I have the perfect idea," Amy said. "Let's go shopping. I'm not sure I have ever seen a costume in the stores for one of these characters, but I'm sure one of them can be bought somewhere. I would most likely have to make yours to accommodate your tummy anyways. Angela, you can help."

"How long are you going to be in town?" Angela asked.

"Just until tomorrow night, then we are heading back. I start having weekly appointments this week. I could come back next weekend to work on this. I can get a head start on some of the sewing today and tomorrow, and then by next weekend we would have a better measurement of Temperance's girth, as well. We can also all get fitted for our dresses next weekend. Does that sound good?"

"Yes." Angela and Brennan replied.

"Okay, now for the invitations. Sweetie, you address them and we will stuff them."

"The list is kind of big for the wedding. Booth and I decided that pretty much anyone who wanted to come to the wedding was welcome. My publicist and publisher were hounding me about making it public. Also, the committee of sponsors and donors from the Jeffersonian are pushing to be invited as well, but reception will be for close friends and family only. So only include the reception invitation in those that I have listed here." She handed Angela the list.

"Got it, sweetie." Angela took the list and set it between her and Amy. "So, tomorrow, do you want to get together again to go over musicians, entertainment, menus, and cakes? The sooner we get it done, the sooner you can relax."

"Sure, but nothing is open on Sundays for you to call them to set it up." Brennan said.

"I know, but if we get it all settled, then I can make all of the calls first thing Monday morning."

* * *

**Okay, so this one was kind of long. I have some more written up and ready to go but it is not quite ready, so hopefully it won't take me as long to update. Maybe tomorrow if I get it proofed and ready to go. **

**I am going to make you wait until the reception before I reveal the costumes. I can give you a hint. Brennan's costume will be red and black. Try to guess if you want, and if you get it right…nekkid!Booth to you! Or Brennan…depending on which way you swing, I guess.**

**The Austin Grill is a real place in DC, in fact right down the street from the Hoover and the Smithsonian, which I found interesting when I was doing some Googling for a place for them to have lunch. I wanted them to have a Texas feast, considering I live in Texas, and when I saw that place right down the street from the Hoover, I was like heck yeah!**

**Interesting fact: The colors of the college I graduated from are purple and gold. The colors are very complementary of each other, depending on the shade of each color chosen. I would have gone with my favorite color, lime green, but seriously…lime green bridesmaids' dresses…oh Hell no. Obviously it was a given that Brennan would carry daffodils, which are a brilliant yellow. And I like purple almost as much as I like lime green…so that is how I came up with the colors. That and I think Angela looks fabulous in purple. :)**

**Thanks in advance for your always fantastic Reviews. :)**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	28. Protecting the Ones You Love

**If you haven't heard, Fox and Dish Network settled on a deal which means I will NOT be losing my beloved Fox channel and my wonderful shows and the World Series! **

**Some of you were trying to guess the college I graduated from. I graduated this past May from Hardin-Simmons University.**

**There were also some good guesses about the costumes, but no one came close. You get a few new clues in this chapter, but I don't think there is anything that will outright give it away. I would love to hear some more of your guesses though. :D**

**Thank you to all of you who take the time to review; it really does mean so much. You are the driving force that keeps me on track. Mucho love to each person who has reviewed this fic and to those who have yet to do so.**

**Enjoy, and don't forget to let me know your thoughts when you are done.**

* * *

The ladies were just finishing up stuffing and addressing the last of the envelopes as the men and kids walked into the apartment. They had just gone to see The Blue Man Group perform live at Warner Theater. It was now just after three and they had a few hours before dinner time.

"How would you girls like to go down to the pool to go swimming?" Booth asked.

The returning shrieks of joy were almost deafening and would have given Angela a run for her money.

Booth expected an enthusiastic reply from the kids, but his son's reaction surprised him. He had expected Parker to be more enthusiastic than he was. Being the observant investigator he was, Booth immediately recognized the hesitance in Parker's reaction to the suggestion. It didn't take him long to realize what the problem was, and now he was mentally kicking his own ass for not realizing sooner that this might be an issue for Parker.

It had only been a week since Parker was removed from his abusive environment. Booth should have realized that Parker would be self-conscious of the marks that he most likely still wore as a result. He remembered his own childhood so well, and thinking about it now, he couldn't believe he was so careless as to not have considered this as a possibility.

He told everyone else to get ready while he took Parker into his room for a discussion.

"Parker, I'm sorry, buddy. I should have thought before I suggested swimming. I can't take it back now that the girls are excited about it."

"It's fine. I haven't thought about what Brent did to me since Dr. Bones laid with me on the couch. I kind of forgot about the bruises until I realized that someone might see them with my shirt off at the pool." The boy looked down at his feet as he swung them while he was sitting on the bed.

"You don't have to take your shirt off. Parker, when I was a kid, I had the same fear of someone seeing the marks and bruises my dad left on me. When I was invited to pool parties I did one of two things. I didn't go, or if I did go, I never took my shirt off."

"Maybe that would work. I don't want to just sit up here while everyone else is down there having fun." He reasoned.

"It won't be like this forever. They will fade more until you can't see the bruises. I still have some scars, but most of them are barely visible. The ones that are visible are from recent injuries, and not because of my dad. We all have the marks of our lives on our skin, some of us more than others. You did nothing wrong and have nothing to feel ashamed about. Why don't you get changed and if you want, you can keep your shirt on, but know that we're your family and we aren't going to think any less of you no matter what you choose." Booth turned to leave the room.

"Dad?"

Booth turned to look back at his son. "Yes, Parker?"

"Have you seen them?" He asked.

"The bruises? Yeah. I saw the pictures."

"No, the actual bruises." He lifted his shirt, and even a week later the sight made Booth want to be physically ill. He honestly didn't know how Parker had been able to move around the way he had without being affected by the painful injuries he carried around. He thought back to his own childhood injuries, and was amazed by how much stronger his son was than he was at Parker's age. He never willingly showed anyone, and here Parker was showing him after he had already showed Brennan so that she could take pictures.

"You don't have to show me. I understand the feeling of wanting to keep it to yourself. I just want you to know that it's your choice."

"Dad, I need to. I need to get over this."

**B&B**

Booth went into their room to get changed. Brennan was digging in her drawer for the two piece suit she had just purchased. It was black with white trim and had ties on the bottoms so that she could adjust them if she needed to.

She shucked her clothes and walked over to Booth, who had just pulled his swimming trunks up, so that he could tie the ties on the back of her top.

"Is he okay?" Brennan asked. She, too, had gone through the shame of feeling like she needed to hide the marks left on her by her foster parents.

"Bones, Parker is only ten, and he is one of the strongest people I know. He showed me—his bruises, he showed me. They haven't faded yet, and I think he is worried that people are going to see the marks and think less of him for it. I told him he could keep his shirt on if he felt like he needed to."

"I hate this," she hissed through her clenched teeth. "Does it make me a bad person to want to beat the shit out of Brent for this?" She asked.

"No, baby. I wish I could say I only wanted to beat the shit out of him for it, but the truth is that a very dark part of me wants to do so much more than kick his ass. If he weren't in jail right now, I don't know that I wouldn't go after him," Booth said; the look in his eyes different from any of the others she had ever seen there. Anger, rage, hatred, disgust, and revulsion colored his eyes a hard cold steely brown where his usual warm loving soft brown eyes were nowhere to be seen. The usual shine was gone.

She touched his shoulders with her hands. She ran them down his sides and wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her head on his shoulder where her hand previously was. It took a few minutes, but he eventually relaxed in her arms, and when she pulled back to look into his eyes they were almost back to normal.

"Just promise me you won't do anything that will jeopardize your job or the future of our partnership." Brennan ordered.

"I promise. I have Parker, the baby and you to think about, too. I won't be doing anything like that."

"We should probably get out there." Brennan said. "The girls are probably ready to go. Can you grab a bunch of towels from the closet?"

"Yep, go ahead and go out there. I will get the towels. I also have some water guns in the closet I know the kids will enjoy." He gave her a swat on the rear as she walked out of the room.

**B&B**

"CANNON BAAAALLLLL!" Parker yelled as he ran and jumped into the pool tucking his arms and legs into his body to make a huge splash.

"I guess he decided on no shirt." Brennan commented to Booth.

"Yeah, he said he needed to move on from this. Then he said that swimming in a shirt sucks because it weighs you down too much."

"Why don't you, Russ, and Amy get in? I am going to call dad to see if he wants to join us for dinner. Then, I will be getting in shortly." She reached both hands up to cup his cheeks. "I love you, Seeley." She leaned in for a PG rated kiss and missed his lips on hers the second they left each other.

He put down the towels at several chairs and a table, and then he reached behind his back with one hand to tug his shirt off. Then, just like his son, he ran and tucked his limbs in and screamed, "CANNON BALL!"

Russ turned to his sister, "He's right, maybe you should be hoping for a girl." They all laughed before Russ and Amy went over to the stairs to enter the water slowly.

"Temperance, thank you for inviting us down to the pool. Trust me, swimming will quickly become one of your favorite pastimes as you get bigger." Amy said with a relieved smile.

"I can see how. The water acts as a counter balance to the effects of gravity. Also, the buoyancy of subcutaneous adipose tissue adds to the almost weightless feeling while in the water. I would imagine that this is a huge reliever of stress on the lower lumbar region of the spine. While I am not as far along as you currently are, I can already feel the effects of the little bit of extra weight I am carrying in my joints and back." Brennan was about to continue when Booth interrupted.

"Baby, stop squint-talking them to death, make the call to your dad, and then come join me."

She rolled her as at Booth as she fished around in her tote bag for her phone.

She flipped open her phone and found her dad's name in her contact list. She made the call, and he agreed to come over for dinner. He also agreed to picking up some pizza on his way over.

Brennan made her way over to the steps of the pool being careful to not get splashed by the kids, who were seeing who could make the biggest splash with their hands.

"Is it cold?" she asked Booth, who saw her make her way over and now he was swimming over to where she was standing over by the steps.

"Nah, just jump in."

"No. I don't jump in. I have always eased into the water."

"Why torture yourself when you can do it all at once and get it over with?"

"Because that's just how I have always done it."

Booth stood and held out his hand to help her step into the pool.

She didn't take it. "You're just going to pull me into the water. No, thank you."

"No I won't, Bones. That would be a little too dangerous right here by the steps in the shallow water. I wouldn't risk hurting you like that. Just take my hand." Booth offered again. He wasn't offended that she thought he would do something like that. He had been known to trick her and he couldn't blame her for being a little bit skeptical of his intentions.

She did end up taking his hand as she stepped into the water and onto the first step down. "It isn't as cold as I thought it would be." She took a few more steps into the water, and walked into Booth's arms as he opened them up to receive her body against his. "Thank you for not being a big meany."

"I love you, too, Bones." He took her hand again and tugged on it to get her to go into deeper water with him, and away from the splashing children. "Come over here."

"Booth, I can't reach right here. Can you stop dragging me? I would rather not spend all of my energy trying to stay above the water."

"I can still reach here; if you are feeling a little lazy you could just hold onto me. I won't let you sink." He kissed her temple. "Then, I would be able to feel your skin against mine." He growled into her ear.

She went into his arms and brought her arms to rest around his neck and shoulders and she rested her forehead on his. Her nose grazed his as her lips hovered lightly over his. "I love our family, but I wish we were alone." He could feel the shudder of her breath before she closed the last little bit of distance between them. They were able to get in a few good seconds of a tender loving kiss before a chorus of "Ewww" sounded out from all of the children and Russ.

Booth and Brennan broke apart on a chuckle and rolled their eyes. They stayed in their hug and just danced around the deeper water for a little bit. After awhile they joined Russ, Amy and the kids back over in the shallow end for a water gun fight.

**B&B**

Max arrived at the pool party with the pizza not long after the water gun fight had dissipated. He set the pizza boxes on the poolside table, and called the troops over to come and get it. They quickly realized they didn't have any plates or any napkins, so Booth quickly ran upstairs to grab some of both.

While Booth was in the kitchen finding the items he came up for, he felt someone's hands grab his shoulders to turn him and slam him into the pantry door. The old man held his arm to Booth's throat as he glared into Booth's eyes with a cold deadly stare.

"Max! What the fuck?" Booth's voice came out broken and strangled.

"I swear to God, Booth, if you did what I think you did, you're going to end up being torched on a pole with a coin shoved down your throat." He applied more pressure to Booth's throat.

"Wh—what are you talking ab—out? Ah—Can you just…let go?"

"The marks on the boy that might as well be my grandson. Did you do that to him?" Max asked.

_Shit! Bones didn't tell him? Jesus Christ, I might be lucky he didn't just murder me._

"No. After what I went through, I would never touch my kid!"

Max saw the truth in Booth's eyes. He saw the haunted look of the past. While Max did not have direct knowledge of Booth's past with his father, he did get the implication from Booth's statement that he would not do unto his son what had been done to him, whatever that might have been. Max loosened his death grip on Booth. "Well then, who did?"

"Brent, Rebecca's ex." He brought his hands up to massage the soreness in his neck and throat. "He is in jail. That is why Parker is living with us. I thought Bones told you. She let him spend the day with you this last week. I figured she did."

**B&B**

Once they were back down at the pool, Booth passed out plates and napkins before getting his own pizza. While he sat there quietly eating his pizza he couldn't keep some thoughts from running through his head. While Max had gotten the jump and him, put his ego in check, and thoroughly scared the shit out of him back in the kitchen, he still couldn't believe the words that came out of the man's mouth. _…the boy that might as well be my grandson. _Booth knew Parker was fond of Max, and Max was good with Parker, but he had no idea that Max had felt that way about his kid. Now that he knew, there was absolutely no doubt in his mind considering the glimpse he had gotten of the fiercely protective man he was on the receiving end of.

"Booth?" Brennan called his name for the fifth time. She touched his shoulder and he jumped slightly sending his pizza sliding off of his plate and onto the ground.

He looked up at her as she sat next to him on the lounge chair. He picked the pizza up and set it back on his plate, and put it aside. He grabbed his bottle of water and started manipulating the plastic to the point of making noise. Brennan reached out to stop his movements.

"Seeley, what's wrong, baby?" She asked gently.

"It's nothing."

"_Nothing_ wouldn't have had you staring off into space, ignoring food, and causing you to startle when I touched you." He started worrying the plastic again. "And, you wouldn't be abusing a plastic bottle nervously. Give me that!" She took the bottle, and set it next to his plate on the ground. "Whatever is bothering you, you can tell me; you know that, right?"

"Yeah." There was a long silence. She gave him a look. "What here; right now?" He asked.

"Yes. Everyone else is either over by the table or back in the pool."

"Okay, but I don't know how you are going to take this. It could be one of the most touching and heartfelt things your father has ever done, or one of the scariest. I am not even sure what I think about it, yet."

"Well, I won't know if you don't just tell me." She laced her fingers through his when she grabbed his hand.

He brought the joined hands up to his face to place a long kiss to the back of her hand to give him some time to think of what to say.

"When I went up to the kitchen to get the plates, Max followed me. I didn't hear him come in behind me and he cornered me against a wall and had his arms to my throat."

She gasped. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, but for a second, I thought that I really had done something to deserve what he was doing to me."

"Well, did you?"

"No. He saw the marks on Parker, and he thought that I did _that_—he thought I did that to my son. I thought you were going to tell him about it."

"I'm sorry, babe. I was going to tell him Wednesday before he spent time with Parker, but we were talking about the ring, he wanted to feel my tummy, and then Parker came back into the room and it just slipped my mind."

"It's okay, Bones. I set him straight after he threatened to torch me on a pole and stuff a coin down my throat. It honestly doesn't even bother me that he nearly choked me to death, but something he said really has me metaphorically choked up. I think I really am touched by his words. He reminded me of the fiercely protective man he used to be; the one who left you and Russ to keep you guys safe. He said that Parker might as well be his grandson. I've heard Parker refer to him as _Grandpa Max_, but I have never heard Max refer to him as someone so dear to him. Bones, I never would have thought that I would have been so happy for my son to have a grandfather like Max until I saw the sheer protective fury in his eyes when he thought I abused Parker."

He turned his head to look at Brennan. He saw the tears in her eyes as she was looking over to her father. "While I don't approve of the fact that he threatened you, I think I finally have all of the evidence I need to fully forgive my father."

**B&B**

The swimming had tired everyone out by time bedtime had rolled around. There were no arguments about sleeping arrangements. There were no denials of goodnight kisses. And once again, there were no nightmares for the young Booth boy.

After their Sunday morning breakfast Parker and Booth went to Mass while Russ, Amy and the girls stayed with Brennan. Brennan and Amy planned on meeting Angela for lunch to figure out a few more wedding details, and so they could work a little on the costumes for Booth and Brennan's reception.

Russ watched cartoons with Hayley and Emma until Parker and Booth returned from Mass. Once they were back, Booth got out a bunch of board games they could play, but the kids had instead opted to play the Wii. It didn't take much convincing on the kids' part, but eventually they were able to get Russ and Booth to join in on the game. Before they knew it, Brennan and Amy were walking in the door giggling at something unknown to them.

"What kind of evil plan does Angela have cooked up for us?" Booth asked.

"You will find out eventually." Amy said.

"Yeah, I promised Angela I would keep your costume a secret until right before the reception. I think she is afraid you won't want to wear it."

"Dear Lord, please have mercy on my soul." Booth said looking to the ceiling. "Please, tell me it isn't embarrassing!" He pleaded to Brennan.

"No, I don't think it is. I can give you a few hints, if you would like." She said as she traced her finger along his shirt at his shoulder.

"You know, if you gave me enough hints that I guessed what we will be, then technically, you wouldn't break your promise to Angela." He flashed his smile at her.

She scrunched her face in a faux thoughtful expression, "Hmm, okay, but I am not going to give you enough that you will be able to guess. I will just give you enough to drive you crazy."

"You underestimate me, baby. I am great at making guesses and being right."

It was almost as if there wasn't anyone else in the room with them. The kids were all still playing the Wii, but Russ and Amy watched the interaction in amusement, not daring to do anything to interrupt.

"The characters our costumes are based off of are in love, most of the time. My costume will be primarily black and red. I cannot tell you anything about yours without giving it away, but my character often carries a big gun. That is all you are getting."

"Oh, I know! We must be going as the Texas Tech mascots. You will be going as the Masked Rider, while I will be going as that Red Raider guy that looks like Yosemite Sam from the cartoons."

"Who?"

"Yosemite Sam. Merrie Melodies? Looney Tunes? Come on, baby! You know the guy that has red hair, a big mustache, and a giant hat, and he always walks around saying, _oooh, I hate that rabbit!_" She shrugged her shoulders. "Jesus, Bones, you, me, and Parker are going to have a cartoon date next Saturday morning."

"You want Parker to be present for one of our dates?" Brennan asked with a furrowed brow.

"This isn't _that_ kind of date. It just means we need to all spend some time together while Parker and I introduce you to some classic cartoons and the characters."

"Oh." She looked over to the kids playing the Wii. "Do you think they would let me play?"

"Sure, but go easy on them will ya?"

**B&B**

"This has been a really nice visit. Thanks for letting us stay with you. Next time, I will try to give you better notice." Russ said hugging his sister.

"Actually," Amy said to Russ, "I need to come back next weekend to help finish the costumes. I know you can't come because of work, but I can bring the girls and they can hang out with Seeley and Parker while Angela and I work on the costumes."

"Okay. Well, little sister, I guess the next time I will see you will probably be the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner." Russ said as he pulled his sister in for another hug. "Take care, okay." He kissed her cheek as she nodded. "Girls, come say goodbye to Aunt Tempe."

Booth shook hands with Russ, and wished them luck with the scan on Friday. They all said goodbye, and soon it was time for bed.

It had only been two days since the couple had slept in the privacy in their room, and with each other. If Booth thought Brennan was clingy and cuddly before, he didn't know how to describe her now. She might as well have been sharing his skin with him. He didn't mind, but he did wonder what was going on in that beautiful mind of hers. He wouldn't know unless he asked, and even then, it wasn't a guarantee that she would tell him.

"Not that I am complaining, but why are you so much more cuddly than usual?"

"No real reason. I like you. You're warm. You smell good. And, I might have missed you, just a little." She replied playing down her statement.

"Oh, is that all?" He gave her his charm smile. "I might have missed you, too."

"When we get back from our honeymoon, I think we need to start looking at houses." She said.

"Yeah we could use the space. I like Russ, but baby, I don't want to have to sleep with him again." He laughed.

"It would be nice to be in a place big enough to have everyone over for Thanksgiving. Do you think we can do that?"

"What? Get moved in time? Or find a place big enough for everyone?" He chuckled. "We are the center of a huge family."

"Both, I guess. Unless, you don't want a big place?" She asked

"No, I wouldn't mind. We need room to spread out, and room to grow if we decide to have any more kids. Guest rooms are always a plus, too. I know you also like having an office. So a big place wouldn't bother me. Just, nothing like Hodgins' mansion, please."

"Of course not." She nuzzled her face into his neck and placed soft kisses there. "Booth?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you want more kids?" she asked shyly.

"I suppose, but I am not the only one that should have an opinion on that one. If you want more kids, then yes. If not, then I will be fine with these two wonderful kids I already have. If it happens by accident again, then I would welcome it just as we have this one. To be honest, it would really take something really big for me to deny you another child if you wanted one. Parker and this baby are by far my biggest accomplishments in life so far, and I wouldn't mind adding to that."

"I was just asking because I think that I would. Obviously, I would want to wait a little while between this one and the next, but I would like more than just one child with you. So, I guess the real question is, how long do we wait?"

"We will cross that bridge later. We have awhile to think about that before we decide. Let's just get some sleep for now."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you, too, baby."

Booth ran his fingers through her hair, and Brennan curled even further into Booth's bare chest, and wove her legs between his and they both fell soundly asleep.

* * *

**1…2…3 Awww. B&B Love! **

**Next chapter may skip ahead a few days to get the ball rolling for the scan, cartoon date, and the weekend of finishing plans. I didn't intend on taking so many days off from posting this last week, and it put the Halloween wedding a little off schedule. I will try to get it cranked out soon. Not that it really matters, but it would have been nice to have coincided with RL Halloween. **

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	29. Million Dollar Question

**Hello friends! Happy Hump Day!**

**To save my sanity and help me keep up with my own timeframe, I put in a few timestamps in this one when I was writing it. This is something I can keep doing if you guys would like. I tend to get wordy and sometimes it can be hard to keep track of where we are in the timeframe of the pregnancy.**

* * *

Fifteen Weeks and Three Days (Tuesday)

"Booth?" Brennan called out across the apartment.

He stuck his head out of their room to answer so he wouldn't have to yell back. "What?"

"Are you almost ready?" She asked. She had been ready for quite some time. She had also just helped Parker, and he was sitting and waiting as well.

"Yes, but do I really have to wear this?" He gestured toward the traditional attire.

"_This_ is called a gi, and yes, you do." She replied.

He groaned. "This kinda looks like a _skirt,_" he whined in distaste of the thought of wearing a skirt.

"No it doesn't. You're wearing pants, and it's a robe. It does not look like a skirt."

"Okay, so when do I get a different colored belt? This one is…bland."

"Booth, you know what the colors mean. White is novice. You are a novice. You will move to orange when you advance ranks in skill development. You may even develop enough skill over time to wear a black one like mine. Now, are you ready to go? Rebecca called earlier. She is going to meet us there."

"Mom's coming, too?" Parker asked as his eyes light up at the mention of his mother.

"Yes, Bub. So are you ready?" Booth asked Parker.

**B&B**

"Okay, you guys have fun. I will meet you right back here when you get out." Brennan said as she gave Booth a hug and kiss.

"Are you not staying with us?" Rebecca asked.

"No, I enrolled you guys all my old karate class, but since found out I'm pregnant I have been taking Tai Chi. The motions are low impact and less abrupt as well as tending to be focus driven. It has proven to be quite relaxing, and helps me to retain a certain amount of flexibility." She motioned for them to go. "Go on, you do not want to be late. You might miss some instruction."

They turned and went opposite directions.

When they met back in the same place, there were smiles all around. Booth and Parker talked animatedly about what they learned to do, and Parker took it upon himself to demonstrate some of the things he learned.

Brennan was so glad that her boys were happy. She looked to Rebecca who also looked happy for the first time in awhile.

"So, what do you think? Do you think it will help your confidence any?" Brennan asked her as they fell slightly behind the boys as they walked to the parking garage.

"Yes, I do. Just some of the simple things we did tonight has helped. We got the chance to see some of the more advanced students do some sparring. It was amazing. I think this is going to be good for all of us. Seeley, especially."

"How so?"

"Well, he is physically fit; there is no doubt about that."

"True."

"But he sometimes has this overconfidence that has proven to be a burden in his job. You've certainly seen it. There were a few times back before he met you, that I wasn't sure Parker was still going to have a father, and honestly that's why I restricted his access to Parker early on. I didn't want Parker to get attached and then lose him. I think you have saved him from himself on a few occasions since you have become partners. I think that martial arts can help fill some more of those gaps."

"He doesn't have very many weaknesses, but it is true that he overcompensates to mask and hide some of his shortcomings. And for the most part he does this fairly well enough to keep suspects from using it against him. However, Howard Epps and Heather Taffett are probably the two that have most been able to figure us both out. It was incredibly dangerous for them to be able to use so much of our own personal issues against us."

"I can only imagine."

**B&B**

Fifteen Weeks and Six Days (Friday)

"Temperance Brennan," the nurse called out to the waiting room full of people.

Brennan stood and took Parker's hand as Booth took her other hand. They all walked back into the area where they took Brennan's weight, temperature, and measurements.

"So are we here to try to find out the gender today?" Dr. Matthews asked as he entered the exam room. "Oh, hi. I haven't met you, yet." He reached his hand out to Parker to shake his hand. "I'm Dr. Matthews. I am Temperance's doctor."

"I'm Parker Booth." He pointed to himself, "I'm the big brother."

"Great, are you guys ready to see the baby?" He asked as he wheeled the cart with the computer and ultrasound equipment over to the bedside. "Could you raise your shirt up just a little and lower your pants a little as well. Oh, look at that. You are already a little bigger than last time you were here." He grabbed the tube of jelly. "This is going to be a little cold."

Brennan's tummy jumped slightly at the cool sensation as it hit her skin.

"Do you think we will have a good chance to find out what the gender is today?" Booth asked as the doctor typed more into the computer to get it set up.

"It is possible, but it mostly depends on how shy the kid is. Sometimes they just don't cooperate, and other times you would swear the baby was an exhibitionist. In cases where we do not have a clear view of the anatomy, we can try again on a different day."

The doctor positioned the wand, "I'm just going to take some measurements really quickly and make sure everything is developing correctly."

The sound of the fetal heartbeat filled the room. Parker looked to Brennan and smiled that famous Booth smile, as she reached over and grabbed his hand with tears in her eyes. "That's the heartbeat," she whispered to him.

"Neat." Parker looked up to his dad, who smiled back through his own tears, before his eyes went back to Brennan and then back to the screen.

The doctor moved the wand around and occasionally typed things into the computer. "Okay, it looks like the fetal development is normal. The fetus is about four and a half inches long, or about the size of a large apple. It probably weighs about three and a half ounces. Are we ready to find out the gender?"

"Can we all take guesses first?" Parker asked.

"Sure," the doctor said. "Temperance, what is your guess?"

"Bones doesn't make guesses," Booth said before she could say anything.

"Booth, you didn't let me answer. There is no harm in guessing when we are about to find out for sure. Conjecture is pointless when trying to solve a murder because that requires facts. This is just fun." Was she really giving him a lecture on the fun of guessing? She smiled at Parker. "I think it will be a boy. This child makes me eat like a man."

They all laughed. "Alright Parker, what is your guess?" The doctor asked.

"Hmm, I don't know. I want a little brother to mess with, but I wouldn't mind a little sister to watch out for." He thought for a few seconds before giving his answer, "I think maybe it's a girl."

"Hmm, split so far. Alight, daddy, what about you?" The doctor asked with a grin.

"I think it's a girl." Booth leaned over and kissed Brennan's temple. "But I would be happy either way."

"Okay, here we go. Let's see if we have an exhibitionist or a shy kid." He positioned the wand over Brennan's tummy to try to get a good look. He reached over and tapped a few keys freezing the image on the screen.

**B&B**

Booth and Brennan had just climbed into bed for the night, and were settling down into each others' arms.

"Did you see Parker's face when the heartbeat became audible?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah. He is so excited to be a big brother."

They laid together and kissed languidly for a few minutes, and really took the time to enjoy each others' presence.

"You know I was just kidding about not being able to handle taking care of three Booth men, right?"

"I know. You are charming and nice, and you have instilled these traits into Parker. I will be expecting the same for this one," she said taking his hand and placing it over her abdomen.

"Oh, you mean you like the little master manipulator I have created out of Parker? You completely caved when he asked for a milkshake tonight at the diner. One look at the patented Booth charm smile and you were a goner."

"That smile is genetic, and you have taught him to use it well to his advantage. But I am talking about your personality. You are a good man, Seeley, and Parker is a good boy."

"Do you think that if I smile just right you will cave, and tell me what our costumes will be?"

"No," she said vehemently.

"What if I give you the full Seeley Booth special?" He asked in a sexy manly purr and waggling his eyebrows at her.

He nuzzled his nose into her neck and nipped on the spot behind her ear before soothing it with his tongue.

"Mmm, you can try, but I will not be caving unless you do something to completely incapacitate my ability to sensor what I say."

"Oh, I'm sure I can do that." He smiled and growled into her neck and placed hot open mouthed kisses to the sensitive skin.

"Did you lock the door?" Brennan asked.

"No, did you?"

"No."

"Crap." He reluctantly left the bed to go lock the door. As he was walking toward the bed he was quickly stripping himself of his clothes. By time he reached the bed, they were both naked.

He started at the foot of the bed and slowly made his way up her legs from her feet with his mouth as he climbed over her and onto the bed. Her legs fell apart inviting him further towards the warm wet destination.

He worked his way up her inner thighs pausing just before he slid his tongue along her slit. She groaned in displeasure when his mouth didn't stay there. He trailed his kisses up to her belly button and dipped his tongue in the cute little indention in her rounded tummy.

He brought one of his hands to her core and slipped a finger past her soft brown curls and into her folds to feel her slick desire for him.

She made a noise that had the potential to get louder and wake the sleeping boy down the hall. He stilled his finger, "Shh, baby. You have to be quieter with Parker here. You know I love it when you're vocal, but I would rather not give my son a reason to need therapy for the rest of his life."

He curled his finger back up inside her. He continued his kisses up and around her tummy trailing up to her breasts. He dipped in another finger, pulling another deep moan from her. He took his time on each breast toying with each nipple using his tongue and occasionally his teeth to lightly scrape over the pebbled flesh and using his other hand to gently massage the breast not currently being lavished by his mouth.

His fingers kept up their movements inside her and occasionally went up to stroke around her sensitive nub.

He kept one hand on her breast playing with her nipple as he worked his mouth up her chest and neck to her jaw and finally to her mouth when her moans of pleasure held more volume than was appropriate.

His fingers sped up as he felt the flutters of her inner walls against his fingers. He used his thumb to rub more over her clit, a few more passes across the bundle of nerves and she was sent over the edge. Her juices flooded his fingers as she shattered, and her screams were muffled into his mouth.

He didn't give her time to ease off or the orgasm; he removed his fingers and he positioned himself over her to immediately sheath himself into her. She gasped into his mouth as he filled her out, and he stilled at the intense feeling of her core still fluttering rapidly from her orgasm around his penis.

He took a second to keep from losing his grip on control, and then slowly started moving inside of her. He trailed his kisses down to her neck to give her a little time to breathe as she recovered from her orgasm and quickly built up to another one.

"God, Bones…you're so beautiful."

"Mmm, ah—you are too," she panted. "Beautiful…very, mmm"

"Manly, Bones; use manly words. Men are not beautiful." He said breathlessly as he started moving a little faster.

"You are, AH, very…beautiful."

"Bones, ohmygod. Shit, Temperance!"

She started to shriek his name, so he recovered her mouth with his to stifle the noise as she shattered beneath him. His orgasm quickly followed hers and he rolled them to their sides so that he could stay joined with her without crushing her.

He stroked his hands up and down her back and sides as her hands ran through his hair and down his back. He placed kisses to her head and face as she nuzzled into his neck and shoulder.

"Booth, everything about you is beautiful; your physique, your strength, the way _feel_, the way you treat others, the way you love me for who I am."

"There is nothing beautiful about my past."

"Mine either, but you continue to tell me how beautiful I am. Besides, I didn't say anything about your past, although I'm sure that despite everything you were just as beautiful then, too."

"Okay, you've made your point, but can't you think of a more manly word to use?"

"Sure, but we are just beautiful people, Booth. We can't change who we are."

He laughed as he remembered his words to her after she said she didn't want to be a sexy scientist.

_Well that's like me saying I don't want to be a sexy FBI agent. We can't change who we are. _

**B&B**

The couple wore each other out making love until really early in the morning. Brennan knew that she would have a busy day with Angela and Amy, but Booth kept giving her a reason to stay awake a little longer. She knew he was trying to tire her out to make her let their costumes slip from her lips. She held strong throughout the night and Booth finally gave up when the first signs of dawn started showing through the curtains.

They were startled awake by someone pounding on their bedroom door. Apparently they had both forgotten of the cartoon date, and now after only two hours of sleep they were being woken up by a very enthusiastic child who was very much wide awake.

"Dad! Dr. Bones! Wake up! It's time for cartoons!"

Booth smiled and gently shook Brennan's shoulder to wake her up.

"Time for our cartoon date." He kissed her temple and ran his hands up and down her arms.

"Okay." He tugged the sheets down to expose his chest so she could complete her morning ritual of kissing his chest over the scar he had gotten taking a bullet for her.

Booth pulled on a pair of his sweatpants and an old t-shirt, and Brennan pulled on a pair of her sweatpants and one of Booth's big FBI sweatshirts to help against the early morning chill.

They both walked out into the living room where there was a very excited ten year old boy awaiting their arrival. The sounds of SpongeBob and Patrick filled the air.

"Oh, no. Parker. Turn that sponge bullshit off. We're watching the classics this morning. Change the channel to Boomerang."

Brennan gave him a pointed look at his use of language, and he just shrugged his shoulders at her. She walked into the kitchen and started a pot of her coffee (by flavor only). "What do we all want for breakfast," she yelled from the kitchen.

"Just grab some milk, cereal, some bowls and spoons and we should be good to go." Booth told her.

Brennan came back into the room with the requested items. She picked out Fruit Loops for the boys, and she had to go back for some of her Kashi because she didn't have enough hands to grab it all in the first trip back to the living room.

Booth elbowed Parker slightly.

"Thanks, Bones. You're the best," he said when he realized what his father wanted him to do.

"Yeah, thanks, Bones. You're the best," Booth repeated. "But did you really have to bring us skim milk?"

"Hey, I brought you the Fruit Loops against my better judgment. If you want your full fat milk, then you've got to go get it yourself."

"Parks…"

"And don't send your son either. He looks perfectly content eating what was brought to him."

Booth looked at the boy who was shoveling cereal in his mouth like it was the best tasting food on the planet with his eyes glued to The Flintstones.

"No, I'm fine. I don't need whole milk. I'm just not fond of the tastelessness of skim milk, and real milk should not have any translucency."

They spent a couple of hours watching Saturday morning cartoons. They watched The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Do, Looney Tunes, and the Smurfs.

It wasn't long until Angela was practically beating the door down.

Brennan got up to let her in. "Amy isn't here yet, just come in and make yourself comfortable for awhile. We're watching cartoons."

"You, are watching cartoons?" Angela asked with an amused smile on her face.

"Yes. We are having a cartoon date."

"Aw. That is so adorable. Your little family is spending time together watching cartoons. Sweetie, I am so happy for you. It's about time things go right in your life," Angela crooned.

**B&B**

"Booth, are you sure you can handle all three of them?" Brennan asked. "I can go with you if you need me to."

"No, you stay and make sure Angela doesn't go too overboard with things. I am an FBI Special Agent; I can handle three kids. Alright, kids, let's go." They all walked out of the apartment and left the three women to their sewing and planning.

"You could swing by and pick up Jack; he isn't doing anything anyway," Angela told him.

"Sure. Sounds like a good idea. I'll call him on the way so he knows to be ready."

**B&B**

"I'm going to take some measurements of you now, and I will make sure to make it so that there is a little room for growth this week." While Amy was taking some measurements of Brennan's abdomen she asked, "Are you going to have a bachelorette party?"

"No, Booth and I decided against having the traditional drunken social festivity since I can't drink and neither of us want strippers or other frivolous activities. We just don't see the point of going around acting like a single person when we are very clearly committed to each other."

If there was a million dollar question comparable to the question Hank asked a few weeks ago, Angela came up with it.

"Are you going to take Booth's name?"

**B&B**

The ladies dropped what they were doing mid-afternoon so that everyone could make it to their appointment at the Bridal Shop to get fitted for their attire. Booth came by with the kids for their fittings as well. Once Booth left, Brennan finally picked out a dress that would accommodate her cute little baby bump, but also not make her look like a huge whale drowning in fabric and tulle.

Once everyone had shown up for their fittings and left, it was as if there was a huge relief in stress for Brennan that she didn't even realize she had. It didn't last long though because once they were back at the apartment they still had a lot to do to get their costumes ready. Angela was also working on costumes for her and Jack.

Brennan had decided that it would probably be best to just buy Parker's costume rather than try to make it. During the week, they had gone to purchase one, so he was all set and that was one less thing they had to worry about.

It was fairly easy for Parker to pick out what he was going to be once Brennan had told him what they were going as. She made him promise to keep it a secret in exchange for a milkshake and pie at the diner. When they were at the store, they had no problem locating the costume they were looking for as it seemed it was a popular choice among boys his age.

* * *

**So, I left it hanging a little bit. Will she take his name? **

**Now, I probably also have you wondering about everyone else's costumes. You will just have to stick around to find out. I do have several of them picked out already, but I still have a few to figure out. My goal for tonight is to at least get all of the costumes picked out, and then at least start on the next chapter. Depends on how much my preschoolers drain my energy today. **

**For those of you who do not know what Boomerang is, it is a channel dedicated to mostly classic cartoons. I do not know what shows actually play on Saturday mornings as it has been awhile since I really have gotten up to watch cartoons. I do know that a few of the shows I listed no longer come on that channel and haven't for quite some time; call it writer's liberty or whatever tickles your fancy.**

**Also, we found out it's a boy. Now that the gender is no longer an issue, we can start thinking about names. I have several ideas already, but I am willing to take suggestions to see if anyone comes up with something better.**

**I hope to have the next update soon. **

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	30. Million Dollar Answer

**I'm so nervous about this one. This is the wedding chapter, finally. I intended to have it posted after I finished it and proofed it yesterday, but then I decided to sleep on it and then come back to it and re-read it to make sure that it was perfect. I hope you enjoy it. Be sure to let me know.**

* * *

October 30th; 17 Weeks

All of the family and close friends involved in the wedding were convened to go through what would happen tomorrow during the wedding. They had to make sure everything was set up. They had to make sure that everyone knew what their roles were. They had to make sure that everyone knew where to stand. Everything had to be perfect. It wasn't her wedding, but Angela Montenegro-Hodgins was not going to accept anything less than perfection for the perfect couple.

After they had finally gotten everyone to understand how the events were to unfold so that nothing would be out of place, Angela demanded they run through it once more, just to be sure.

Once they were done, they all headed back to Jack's estate for the rehearsal dinner. Jack and Angela had the place decorated and filled with gifts and other things that the couple was not expecting. They didn't know that Angela had gone through such lengths to provide them with such an extravagant dinner. Hodgins had the best French restaurant in the city catering for them, and everyone was pleased.

Everyone was here; all of the squints and squinterns, Russ' family, Jared and Padme, Hank, Parker, Rebecca, and Caroline.

When everyone was stuffed and content in just sitting around visiting with each other, Angela decided that it was time for gifts. The couple had expressed their wishes to not have any sort of bachelor or bachelorette parties, and they had also decided against any sort of wedding shower as well. All they really needed was their little family; they could more than adequately provide for themselves.

Angela explained to them that since she didn't get to throw them a party that tonight would have to serve that purpose as well. All of the guests had brought gifts for the couple. Some were serious gifts, others were gags, and a few were a little on the private side. Once all of the gifts had been given, Lance Sweets walked up to the couple to tell them he had one last present for them, but it was not something they could have until tomorrow after the wedding.

Angela walked over to Brennan with one more box. It was a decent sized box, yet it was fairly light weight. Brennan shook it to see if she could hear anything rattling. No sound.

The cardboard box was not wrapped, and had postage marks on it. The tape was proving to be a little difficult and Booth whipped out his pocket knife to assist her in opening it. When she opened her box, she took out the blue material and held it up.

"Dr. Temperance Booth," she read.

"Sweetie, when you told me you were going to take his name, I came up with this idea. You haven't been able to button your lab coat for a few weeks, so I took the liberty to order some. I ordered various sizes to accommodate growth, as well as a few in your regular size so that you can have those for after you have the baby."

Booth still couldn't believe that she was going to take his name. He had known for almost a week and a half following a conversation he had overheard between her and his son before bed one night.

_Booth was working late on a case that had he had gotten called in for just after dinner. It was time for bed, and Parker wanted Brennan to read to him. He had really grown out of that whole needing to be tucked in every night phase, but he still enjoyed listening to a good story every once in a while. _

_Lately, his dad would read one or two chapters of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn before Parker would go to sleep. Since Booth wasn't here, Parker coaxed Brennan into reading in his place. When she was done reading he was still awake. He had a thoughtful expression on his face that matched his father's when he was thinking about something._

"_What are you thinking about?"_

_He quietly asked her, "When you marry my dad, are you going to have the same last name as me and dad?"_

_She had been expecting the question to come from someone sooner or later, but she was surprised that it came from Parker. She really expected it to come from Angela, but she knew she would ask sooner or later._

"_I have been thinking about this quite scrupulously. I have come up with a pro and con list, and it seems that the pros have far outweighed the cons on this matter."_

"_In English, Dr. Bones, tell me in English." He reminded her so much of his father in that moment that she had to laugh, and then remember that she was talking to a ten year old._

"_Okay, well, I will just explain it all to you."_

"_Okay."_

"_My surname is not my actual surname from birth. It was an identity created by my parents when Russ and I were little kids to protect us."_

"_Is that why Grandpa Max's last name is Keenan, and yours isn't?"_

"_Yes, so really I have no familial attachment to my last name, other than Russ, but technically it isn't his real last name either. Also, I find that I would really like to share the last name of this baby. I know that Booth will want him to have his name just like you have his name. I wouldn't be able to deny him that."_

"_So you want us to all have the same last name?" He asked smiling at the thought of her sharing the same last name as him._

"_Yes. Just Booth. My publisher recommended that I either keep my name or hyphenate my name so that I do not confuse readers."_

"_What does that mean?"_

"_That would make my name Dr. Temperance Brennan-Booth, but I told her that it was my decision and that it was none of her business what I changed my name to. I also thought about the number of times I sign my name on a daily basis, and it would just be a really long name to have to sign on the amount of paperwork I do."_

"_Yeah, that is really long."_

"_Yes, it is. Besides, it is one way I can make sure your father knows I'm in this for the long stride." _

"_Long haul, Dr. Bones."_

_"Long haul; he knows I'm in it for the long haul. He knows I don't make gestures like that without meaning it. It will show him that I am not just entering this marriage for his sake. He will be so happy to know that I plan on sharing his name with him."_

_She kissed his forehead goodnight. "Now, get some sleep. This next week is going to be so busy."_

"_Okay, goodnight. Love you." He told her already falling asleep, happily._

"_I love you, too."_

_She walked out of Parker's room and walked right into Booth as she turned the corner to head to their bedroom. His eyes were watery as he looked into her clear blue eyes and then kissed her. It was clear to her that he had been there long enough to hear every word she said to his son._

_She decided to ask just to make sure because she wasn't sure if she could adequately repeat what she had said to Parker, "How long have you been here?"_

"_Since Huck stole the canoe and danced on the raft," he said, confirming that he had been present throughout her entire explanation._

"I just thought you might like a lab coat that actually fits," Angela continued to explain.

"They're perfect Angela." Brennan said. She held one of the blue lab coats closer to Booth so that he could see the embroidery of her soon to be name expertly adorning the left breast of the coat.

She handed the coat and the box to Booth as she stood to give her best friend a hug.

Cam walked up, and presented her with a new nameplate for her desk. "I had maintenance change the name on the door of your office, and signs in the hallways of the Jeffersonian after you left today."

"Thanks. Everyone, thank you so much. Although, technically it won't be true until the name change is official."

"Which will be soon enough," Booth said. He had set the box down, and went to hug Brennan.

"I put in for the change on my doctorates yesterday. They should be printed and sent to me soon. I think it might take some getting used to to hear people say _Dr. Booth_," Brennan said.

"We could just all call you _Dr. B _like Dr. Hodgins does." Daisy said excitedly.

"No, that's Jack's thing," Angela said defensively, "just like _Bones_ is Booth's thing."

"Ms. Wick, there is a certain order of decorum I require of my students. You may be one of my bridesmaids, but that does not mean you have earned the right to call me anything other than by my professional name at the lab," Brennan said sternly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to overstep," Daisy recoiled as Brennan looked at her.

"Bones…" Booth drawled out in a tone of warning.

She looked at him and knew instantly that he thought she was being a little harsh. She considered the thought for a moment. "I'm sorry, Daisy. I would just prefer that you refer to me by my title at the lab. Hodgins has called me _Dr. B_ for as long as I have worked at the Jeffersonian. It is just coincidental that my new last name will also start with the letter B resulting in no change in his moniker for me."

"I understand. I just jokingly suggested it."

"So you weren't really being serious?" Brennan asked, knowing now that she had misread the situation.

"No," she replied.

"Oh, sorry," Brennan said softly.

"I sort of thought that it would be easier for everyone to remember than remembering to say _Dr. Booth_ instead of _Dr. Brennan_, especially since there will now be two Booths. Oh this is awesome. So, since people call you _Bren_ or _Brennan_ right now, will they still call you that or will they call you _Booth_ like people call Booth _Booth?_"

_What? _Booth and Brennan thought. Was Daisy even sure of what she just said?

Cam decided that it was time to change the subject. "So what is everyone going as tomorrow at the reception?"

**B&B**

Everyone was staying at the Hodgins' estate for the night so that they wouldn't have to get hotel rooms and they could all get ready and be at the church nice and early. The church was close to his property, and he had enough room to house everyone in the wedding party and their families. Angela demanded that the men and kids stay in one wing while the women all stay in a separate wing. This was of course to keep the bride and groom from seeing each other until the wedding.

Each had their own room, and if Angela would have though ahead far enough, she would have stayed in the same room as Brennan. She had gotten restless during the night and decided that she couldn't sleep alone and without the warmth and comfort of _his _body next to hers. She quietly got up and roamed the house hoping that she was being quiet so that she didn't wake anyone up.

All she knew was what wing they were in. She had no clue what room he was in. She didn't want to just open the doors for fear that she would get an eyeful of someone or something she shouldn't see. She stood outside each of the doors silently until she heard the familiar light snoring of the love of her life.

She opened the door. Parker was asleep on the pullout couch that was in the room, and on the extravagant king sized bed laid her partner. She slowly got in bed and curled up next to him. He woke up slightly and welcomed her into the bed with a kiss, pulling her closer to him and told her that Angela was going to kill her if she knew. She set the alarm on his phone to go off at a decent time so that she could wake up and get back to her room before Angela discovered where she had gone. She kissed him one more time, and they told each other goodnight.

At first the couple reacted very bitterly toward the harsh alarm that had awakened them from their deep sleep as it signified the time that they were both dreading. They had to leave the warmth and comfort of each other's arms. They shut the alarm off and lingered in the presence of each other for a few minutes longer.

The alarm had also woken Parker up. He wasn't that surprised to find Bones in their room, but he did figure they had set the alarm for a reason. When he noticed they hadn't really moved since it went off he took it upon himself to wake them up. In an action just as Booth had done to Brennan on several occasions when trying to wake her up, he ran at the giant bed and took a flying leap onto the surface, and being extra careful so that he didn't accidentally land on Bones.

"DAD! DR. BONES! WAKE UP! YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED TODAY!"

Brennan had to laugh at the wake-up call she had just received. Booth wasn't kidding when he had said that Parker used to wake him up like this. Like father, like son. Sometimes, it was hard to know who rubbed off on whom.

"Okay, Parker, okay! We're up," Booth said as he held his hand out to still the boy bouncing on their bed. The last thing he needed was for Brennan to get motion sickness on the morning of their wedding. "Just stop jumping on the bed."

"Booth, what time is it?" she asked after Parker had calmed down a little bit. He was sitting up to where the view of the alarm clock was obscured by his gorgeous bare torso.

He caught her staring. He gave her a knowing smirk when she looked up to meet his eyes. "It's 7:23."

"Shit! Booth, you let me sleep twenty extra minutes! Angela is probably searching this house from…"

"Language, Bones. Aren't you always telling me about how impressionable Parker is? And yeah, you're right. Angela is probably searching high and low from wing to wing of this castle. So, just give me a quick kiss and you can try to sneak back over there. Just tell her you got lost in this ridiculous place when you were looking for the bathroom. If that doesn't work, just tell her you took a slight detour to the kitchen for some food. Trust me she will believe that."

"That…could work. Okay." She almost decided to confront his remark about her eating, but she decided that they did not have time to enter into that little bantering session. She kissed him, and gave Parker a kiss on the forehead and then snuck out of the room to get back to hers.

She was right; when she arrived back to the wing housing the women, Angela's door was wide open. She looked inside, but Angela was not in there. As she was walking out of Angela's room, she heard Angela call her name. She was, indeed, looking for her. She walked in the direction of her friend's voice.

"Angela?" she called out.

Angela heard her and turned the corner, "Where in the Hell have you been? Oh my God! You saw Booth, didn't you? Bren, this is not good."

"Angela, I am not superstitious, and even if I were, I did not see Booth." She decided that Angela would never buy the bathroom story considering her room was attached to a rather large bathroom, so she skipped right over that. "I was hungry, so I went to the kitchen to get something to eat. This Booth boy can eat like the rest of them."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up. Boy?"

"Oh! Oh, no. I wasn't supposed to say anything yet. Ange, you can't tell anyone else. We were planning to reveal it to everyone tonight at the reception."

"Oh, Bren! This is so wonderful. You know what?"

"I am not a mind reader, Angela, and such people do not really exist; they merely use minute details from…"

"It was rhetorical. I just wanted to say this kid is going to come out of the womb as one sexy tiny human." She grinned.

Crisis averted. Angela was either convinced that Brennan had not seen Booth or she was distracted by the shiny new information she was now privy to. And now that Angela knew, she could help them set up their surprise at the reception. It would have been tricky had it been just the two of them trying to do it without getting caught.

For the reception they planned to have a table with all kinds of candies and goodies for people to munch on. What would be better than a giant bowl of orange and brown Halloween M&Ms? Booth had gone down to the candy store and bought some _It's a boy!_ candy. The plan was to put the candies in the bottom of the large bowl and cover them with the Halloween M&Ms, and let people find out when someone would eventually come across the blue candy in the huge bowl of brown and orange.

**B&B**

They decided that it would be a good idea to have the ceremony early in the day so that they could give everyone ample time to get into their costumes for the reception afterward and also to make sure that the reception was over at a decent time because of the kids. The ceremony, itself, was going to be a short and simple thing. It was to be nothing big, not a lot of extra stuff, and without all of the elements that his religion would hold in honor of sacrament. Since the wedding was going to be so short and to the point, they had told everyone to go all out for the costumes. They wanted this to be fun for the kids since they would most likely be missing out on the trick or treating festivities that most kids would be participating in.

Everyone was at the church putting the finishing touches on their hair and makeup, and making sure their tuxes were lint free. Booth wasn't so thrilled about wearing purple, nor was he thrilled about wearing spats. It made him feel snobby, but he had to admit to himself that if he were gay, he would totally marry himself. He was going to marry Bones in half an hour and his mind was full of weird nervous thoughts like that.

He was a nervous wreck. He had really wanted only family and close friends present, but he knew that since he was marrying someone of such a status as Brennan's that he would have to give a little on what he wanted. He knew there would be journalists, photographers, co-workers from the Hoover and Jeffersonian, some old friends, and possibly even several nosy fans that would weasel their way into the ceremony. Brennan had promised her publicist that the ceremony would be semi-public and she promised Booth to keep the reception private.

Booth had chosen Jack over Jared to be his best man. Jared was a little bitter over the choice, but accepted it as Booth and Jack had become great friends over the last several years. He also felt as if he owed the bug man. If he had not been there when Brennan was taken by the Gravedigger, Booth would not have received the text telling them the composition of the soil that led him to their location. She would have died.

He turned to his best man, Jack, and told him that he needed to make sure that the only people allowed with cameras were friends, family, and the photographer they had hired. Everyone else had to leave the camera in the car or not attend the ceremony. He didn't want a bunch of photos of their wedding posted all over the internet like it was everyone's business. They had made an agreement with Brennan's publicist that they would hire a photographer and then release a couple of pictures for an article, and that would be all that would be released to the public. Booth had set it up to where there would be extra security around the church to ensure that everyone was safe and to make sure that no unauthorized persons entered with a camera.

Jack made the promise to him, and Booth went over to see if his son needed help with anything. He seemed to have it all under control, so Booth had nothing to do, but just sit there and wait.

Angela was putting the last touches put on Brennan's hair, and Cam and Padme were making sure the dress was straight and wrinkle free. Brennan had just enough room in the dress to be able to move and breathe without looking frumpy. Daisy made sure the bouquet of daffodils was all pretty and free of wilting or droopy flowers. She also made sure that each of the wild flowers the bridesmaids were going to carry were all ready to go as well. They only had a few more minutes until they were going to be called down to get started.

Booth had been waiting patiently at the end of the aisle with his son by his side. Parker was the ring bearer, but he didn't want to have to walk down the aisle with everyone else, so Booth made the decision that he could stand right next to him and they could watch Brennan walk towards them together. It was perfect symbolism. She would be walking toward the two of them, just as she had come into both of their lives, and Booth was happy that he could share this moment with his son standing right beside him.

They wait was over, the string quartet stopped playing background music and started playing louder and the crowd grew quiet and took their places in the pews. Booth swallowed nervously as the doors in the back opened and he saw Hayley and Emma followed by Cam standing at the head of the line of women dressed in a beautiful purple satin dress that was flattering to the figure and modest at the same time, even for the more round figure of Caroline Julian, who from what he could see of her, looked just as beautiful as the other ladies coming towards him.

The music changed again. This was it. She walked into his view accompanied by her father.

To him she appeared be wearing the most Angelic dress he had ever seen. It was a beautiful white. It was simple, yet perfect. It accommodated their baby in her tummy, and was still one of the sexiest dresses he had ever seen, even more so than her Roxy dress.

The gown itself was a little longer than floor length, and just about two feet from the bottom of the dress there was a floral design in the fabric that trailed down beautifully. The sleeves were short and just off the shoulder and there was enough cleavage present that he was convinced it was just there to tease him. The dress came to a wide V in the back showing off her beautifully satiny white and flawless skin. There was also a shiny satin tie that wrapped around her just below her breasts and above her tummy and tied elegantly in the back to accentuate their little miracle.

Once she had reached the end of the aisle, Max kissed his daughter on the cheek and gave her tummy a little rub before shaking hands with Booth and patting his shoulder. There was no warning in his eyes that Booth could detect. All he saw there was the love for his daughter, and the respect that Max was now bestowing on him as he took his daughter's hand and Booth's hand that he had just shook and placed them together, and then he walked to his seat near Rebecca, Hank, Cullen, Hacker, and the rest of the squinterns.

Booth and Brennan looked at each other and both had tears in their eyes. This was such a long time coming. At this moment, both were wondering why it had really taken them so long for their personal relationship to take off. What had they been afraid of? Because now, as they stood hand in hand about to get married in front of everyone, neither one of them were nervous or scared. They had wasted so much time fearing the unknown of the future without ever giving it a chance, and now there they were; they saw that there truly was never anything to be afraid of. Their love was nothing to fear. They were reminded again as the priest began to speak.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4"

There was a pause after he had read the verse from the Bible, and the couple took the time to whisper that they loved each other.

"Ladies and gentlemen we gather today in the name of love to bind these two people, Seeley Joseph Booth and Temperance Daesee Brennan, and their souls together for all eternity in the eyes of God in Holy Matrimony. They have written their own vows and wish to share them."

"Bones, from the day I met you, I _knew_ there was something different about you. There was something between us before I even knew your name. And then when we first started working together after what happened. I _knew_ you would come around eventually. I just _knew_. I _knew_ you had a good heart, and I _knew_ that you tried to keep this super cool façade up to protect yourself and to keep people from getting close. Somehow you let me in. You let me in your life further and further as we continued to work together and protect each other. I never dreamed that I would fall in love with you. I love explaining pop culture references to you. I love how big your heart is. I love how much you understand about me when it seems that no one else can even scratch the surface. I love how bad you are at acting casual. I love how blunt you can be. I love everything about you, Temperance. I love that you are mothering my child, and I love how wonderful you are with Parker. I couldn't ask for anything more. I love you so much."

Parker had been instructed that once each of the partners had said _I love you_, that was his que to give the rings to them.

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and faithfulness. As I place it on your finger, I commit my heart and soul to you. I ask you to wear this ring as a reminder of the vows we have spoken today, our wedding day."

After placing the ring on her finger, he reached up to wipe the tears that were flowing freely down her face. It was a good thing Angela had gone light on the eye makeup. She was sure she would look like an emo if she had gone with a smoky purple eye like they had originally planned, but the second they started getting ready for the wedding Brennan's eyes were watery and hadn't really stopped since then which forced Angela to amend her plans considering she knew the tears were only going to get worse from there. He smiled at her with tears of his own threatening to slide down out of the corner of his eyes.

"Seeley, from the moment I met you, I knew you were cocky and way over confident. We weren't very nice to each other during our first few months working together and I think the first time either of us took the time to consider how much our partnership meant to each other was when I was taken by Kenton and you risked your safety by leaving the hospital against medical advice to come find and save me. Since then the protective nature of our relationship grew, and we really came to realize that this life we share would be meaningless and empty if we didn't have each other. Seeley, you are the first person I think about when I wake up; I think about you when you aren't there, and before I go to bed. As a little girl I dreamed of this day. The day I would get married and start a family, and then things changed, and that changed me. I suppressed those dreams thinking that it was not logical to dream of something so perfect when the world is full of lies, hate, and bitterness. I didn't want to believe in a love that lasted forever because I had never seen anyone successful at it. I didn't want to fall in love and then be let down once again, but I fell in love with you. It has always been different between us than with anyone else. You have continuously showed me how much you love me, care for me, you protect me, and more importantly, you've shown me that you aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Thank you for helping me to realize that all of these feelings that I have had about love and marriage were there all along. I just needed to be able to find a reason to acknowledge them. Thank you for being that reason. I love you."

Parker handed her the ring so that she could place it on his finger.

"This ring I give to you as a token of my love and devotion to you. I pledge to you all that I am and all that I have to offer as your wife. With this ring, I gladly join my life to yours."

"May the Lord of heaven prosper you both. May He grant you mercy and peace. By the powers vested in me through the District of Columbia and in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now _continue _kissing the bride," he said with a chuckle.

Seeley Booth did not wait until he was granted permission to kiss his wife; he had jumped the gun from the second she had stopped talking and the ring was placed on his finger. The church full of people cheered, and there were a few wolf whistles from some of the guys from the Hoover as well as a sudden burst of flashbulbs from one guy near the back.

An agent simply walked from his seat near the front and snatched the camera from the man who should not have been there taking pictures. He flashed his FBI badge at the man before opening the camera to take out the memory card. He snapped the card between his fingers and then dropped the camera on the ground. People had been warned beforehand that photography was prohibited unless they were a member of the family or the professional photographer they hired. The agent told the man that his camera and memory card would be replaced after the ceremony, but he had been warned to not have a camera in here in the first place.

They finally broke apart after a few more moments as the priest cleared his throat. They looked at him sheepishly. "Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Seeley Booth."

* * *

**Please let me know what you think. I have never written a wedding scene before; one of my really good friends said it was perfect, but she's a little bit biased.**

**The next chapter is the reception. The costumes will finally be revealed. I have decided that I would like to accompany the next chapter with a journal entry of pictures so that you could see the costumes and visualize the couple and their guests in the costumes. Also, I think that there are a few that would explain my reasoning for choosing the costumes I did for Brennan and Booth. **

**Thank you all for reading, and I hope that the wedding was what you had expected, and maybe a little more. **

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	31. I Wanna Know What Love Is

**The reviews for the wedding absolutely blew me away. Thank you so much for reading and taking the time to let me know what you all think.**

**I think some of you have been anticipating the reveal of the costumes more than the wedding, so here it is. I have posted some pictures on my livejournal page to go along with this chapter. You can either read the chapter first or you can read the journal first. Although I would suggest reading the chapter first so that you can use your own imagination before seeing the inspirations through my point of view. **

**Link to the journal: http:/ crayonclown. livejournal .com/ 1130. html**

**The songs in this chapter are "I Wanna Know What Love Is" by Foreigner and "Daddy's Little Girl" sung by Michael Bolton.**

* * *

The new Booth family quickly got changed into some less formal clothes and made their way over to Jack and Angela's where Angela had assured them that their costumes were ready for them. It was decided that they would have the reception in the ballroom at the Hodgins estate since it was a private venue large enough to accommodate their friends and family. Unlike the ceremony, no one would be permitted without having been invited. There was extra security around the property so that no one could sneak in and get pictures.

When they arrived at the large house, Angela ushered them into the room where they were going to be changing. Hanging on two hangers were the costumes, and Booth immediately knew who they were going to be going as tonight from the moment he saw the purple suit and Brennan's red and black bodysuit.

"Oh, no way, Ange. I don't like clowns." Booth said defiantly just as Angela knew he would.

"Listen up, g-man, the reception is in less than an hour. You don't have a choice. That is why we kept it from you. And I'm not sure I would classify The Joker as a clown."

"I sure as Hell do!"

"Come on Booth. They are just comic book characters. It will be fun," Brennan said.

"Do you even know who these two characters are?" Booth asked her.

"Yes. When Amy suggested them, I admit that I did have to do a little research into who the characters were. So, yes, I now know who the Joker and Harley Quinn are."

"And you're okay with this idea?" He asked. He wasn't sure she knew the whole story because if she did she might not agree to her character. He didn't want to ask her in risk of offending her research skills. The last thing he needed to do was piss her off less than an hour after they had gotten married.

"Yes," was all she said, neither confirming what she knew or saying something to reveal what she didn't know. Sweets was going to have a field day with this one.

"Okay, let's get dressed. Where did Parker go?" Booth asked.

"Jack took him to get ready in a separate room so you guys could have some privacy." Angela said.

"Okay, what are you still doing here?" Booth asked in response. They certainly didn't have any privacy with her standing there.

"Oh, yeah. You guys would probably like to get dressed, right? Sorry, yeah. I will just…go get my own costume on." She stated awkwardly as she left the room.

"So, you guys made these costumes?" Booth asked Brennan as she was getting into her sexy figure hugging black and red jumpsuit.

"Yes, we would not have been able to find a costume that would fit my tummy. Amy suggested we used a jersey knit material so that if I would comfortable incase for some reason I grew considerable during this week. For yours it was easy enough to rent a purple suit and find all of the accessories at the store. I hope the green wig won't be too itchy. We considered just having you use green hairspray, but I knew you wouldn't go for that."

"You're right about that. The wig won't be any worse than the fact that I am going to have to wear makeup like a _clown_. Hey, I'm pretty sure you make the sexiest Harley Quinn I have ever seen." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Good. I haven't seen much of the Joker aside from the photos I saw while doing the research on the characters, but I am pretty comfortable is making the conclusion that you're more handsome than any of the pictures I saw."

"Wait until I have all of the makeup on before you make your final assessment," he said.

"I feel comfortable making a preliminary assessment based on the broadness of your shoulders and the narrowing of your hips that are accentuated in that suit."

"Okay, wow. You cannot say stuff like that right now. I won't be able to keep in control if you do. As much as I would love to get you out of that little number, I'm sure Angela didn't go far."

**B&B**

Angela had gone down to make sure that their surprise for everyone was all set and she was glad she had taken the time to get it done really quickly because just as she was done pouring the last of the orange and brown M&Ms into the bowl the doorbell rang.

Hodgins had really gone all out to make the ballroom as creepy and informal as possible. He bought all kinds of decorations and there were parts of the room that looked like an actual haunted house. There were cobwebs strung over everything, and he had even gone as far as to make everything look dusty. There were creepy things in jars on shelves, and there was a table full of goodies for everyone to much on. He figured that it would be a good idea to have something like that to keep with the Halloween theme, and also so that the kids would get their Halloween candy. There were also games for the kids to play so they wouldn't get bored. There was a full wet bar for the adults and punch for the kids.

Among all of this, some of the traditions remained. There was still a white wedding cake, and there was a Groom's cake that had actually been decorated to look like a decomposed body. It went well with the Halloween theme and their professions. Angela wasn't sure if anyone would actually want to eat the disgusting looking thing, but it was there anyway. There was also a dance floor, and a band for entertainment. Traditions such as the throwing of the bouquet and the removal of garter had been done at a little gathering at the church before they left since they knew it would have been a little difficult to uphold the traditions at this unconventional wedding reception. Daisy fought tooth and nail to catch her idol's bouquet of daffodils, and to Sweets' disappointment Wendell caught the garter.

Angela invited Caroline and Cullen into the room. They were the first to arrive. Caroline had come as a psychic that reminded Angela of the Miss Cleo commercials that used to take over the infomercials late at night. Cullen was dressed as Freddy Krueger. Not long after, Wendell and Mr. Nigel-Murray showed up as Mario and Luigi.

Angela had wanted more guests to show up before Booth and Brennan could come down and join the party, so she made them stay cooped up in the bedroom upstairs until she would call them down. Parker, who was dressed as Batman, was already digging in to some of the candy. Angela told him to stay out of the M&Ms until the surprise had been revealed.

When Brennan had told him that she and Booth would be going as the Joker and Harley Quinn, Parker knew he just had to be Batman so he could be the good guy and keep them in line.

Next to show up as Mr. and Mrs. Potato head were Russ and Amy. Their costumes were a great idea especially, in terms of accommodating Amy's big tummy. The girls were looking adorable dressed as Dr. Seuss's Thing 1 and Thing 2.

The girls joined Parker at the candy table and they grabbed a few handfuls of candy and then went to go sit down and play some of the games Hodgins had set up.

Hodgins had made his way down to the party finally. Angela had picked out their costumes. Jack wasn't so sure he wanted to parade himself practically half naked as a Spartan, but when he saw what Angela was planning to wear as a Goddess, he readily agreed.

A few minutes after the band had started to play for some background music Rebecca, Jared, Padme and Hank showed up. Jared and Padme were dressed as Mickey and Minnie Mouse; Rebecca was looking gorgeous in a very regal dress as the Queen of Hearts. Hank came dressed as a garden gnome.

Jack asked Hank why he was dressed as an elf, and jokingly told him he had the wrong holiday. Hank called him a _smart ass_ and went to go find Parker.

Andrew Hacker showed up at the door. He was not in costume. He had not received an invitation so he didn't know about the theme of the party. Hodgins didn't know how he found out about the reception, but he wasn't about to let him in the door. Hodgins knew that if Booth or Brennan wanted him there, he would have been sent an invitation. Hacker almost refused to leave until he had congratulated the couple until he saw Sam Cullen standing just a few feet inside the door closely watching his interaction with the Spartan.

Max came in dressed, very fittingly, as a mobster, and shortly after Cam and Michelle showed up dressed as a vampire and a ladybug.

There were still a few people that had not shown up yet, but Angela figured since all the bride and groom's immediate family were present that it would be alright for them to go ahead and come out to the party.

Just as Booth and Brennan were coming down the stairs, the doorbell rang and Jack rushed off to go answer it. They were greeted and congratulated by all in the room as everyone marveled at how fitting their costumes really were.

Brennan came down the stairs wielding a giant gun, and Booth had no idea where she had pulled it from. One thing he knew certain, it was that damn cannon of hers. A real gun. "Jesus Christ, Bones. Put that thing away!"

"My character is known for carrying a gun."

"Well mine is too, but you don't see me toting my _real_ gun around do you?" He ran a hand nervously down the back of his neck. His boss was here and he really didn't want his wife to get arrested for possession of a deadly weapon without a permit. She had never been approved to carry a gun, and Cullen had made himself clear on the matter of his squint carrying a gun.

"Well there weren't any realistic looking toy guns out there. So, I improvised a little. No big deal."

"No big deal? Bones! You're toting a gun around like it's a _toy_!"

"It isn't loaded and the safety is on, but it shouldn't matter because I am an excellent shot," she replied shrugging her shoulders.

"No one here is going to need to be shot," he hissed. "Just put it away.

"Our guests have all seen guns before, but if it makes you uneasy, I will put it away."

Just as she was putting the gun away, in walked Sweets with Daisy. They were dressed as Waldo and Wenda. Sweets' eyes went wide at their costumes, and he had to wonder if the partners had any idea how big of a psychological meaning they really held. It wasn't a bad thing, but the implications were true, and he wasn't sure if either one of them would be wearing the costumes had they really thought about the history of the characters.

"I have a surprise for the two of you. Well, everyone really, but I was able to get special permission to have someone very dear to all of us to be in attendance today. Come on in!" Sweets yelled back behind him.

Zack walked in; he wasn't wearing a costume, but a bright orange jumpsuit that would make him easy to identify should he try to escape. However, mixed in with all the other costumes, a stranger wouldn't have known that he was an actual inmate at the asylum. He was greeted and hugged from everyone all around.

Since Brennan's visit with him where he had expressed how abandoned and lonely he felt, people had come to visit him more often. Jack had even started to bring him mind games and puzzles to work out like he used to. Every once in awhile, Brennan would come in with some X-rays for him to look at to make him feel useful like he could still help them do some good, even from inside the loony bin.

"I was only able to secure permission to have him for three hours total. That meant I had to choose between bringing him to the wedding or bringing him to the reception. I figured that since the reception was going to be longer, that it would be the better choice."

"Yes, thank you, Dr. Sweets." Brennan said with tears running down from her blue eyes behind her mask. "Zack, I am so happy you could be here."

Booth sensed her tears coming before they fell, and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

It wasn't long before the rest of the squinterns showed up. Clark as a Pimp, and Fisher and Arastoo as Shaggy and Scooby.

They had been mingling and talking for awhile with the guests when all of the sudden they all heard Hank shout at the top of his lungs, "Atta boy Shrimp! Looks like we're adding another Booth boy into the family, huh?" He said as he popped a blue M&M in his mouth. He reached into the bowl and stirred it up where more of the blue candy was showing through the brown and orange. There were cheers all around and the couple was once again congratulated and then it was time for the first dance as man and wife.

The rest of the people in the room started to fade away as the song started to play. They swayed to the music holding each other closely with Booth whispering the lyrics into her ear as she quietly hummed along as well.

_I gotta take a little time  
A little time to think things over  
I better read between the lines  
In case I need it when I'm older  
Aaaah woah-ah-aah_

_Now this mountain I must climb  
Feels like a world upon my shoulders  
And through the clouds I see love shine  
It keeps me warm as life grows colder_

_In my life there's been heartache and pain  
I don't know if I can face it again  
Can't stop now, I've traveled so far  
To change this lonely life_

_I wanna know what love is  
I want you to show me  
I wanna feel what love is  
I know you can show me  
Aaaah woah-oh-ooh_

_I'm gonna take a little time  
A little time to look around me, oooh ooh-ooh ooh-ooh oooh  
I've got nowhere left to hide  
It looks like love has finally found me_

_In my life there's been heartache and pain  
I don't know if I can face it again  
I can't stop now, I've traveled so far  
To change this lonely life_

_I wanna know what love is  
I want you to show me  
I wanna feel what love is  
I know you can show me  
I wanna know what love is  
I want you to show me  
And I wanna feel, I want to feel what love is  
And I know, I know you can show me_

_Let's talk about love  
(I wanna know what love is) the love that you feel inside  
(I want you to show me) I'm feeling so much love  
(I wanna feel what love is) no, you just cannot hide  
(I know you can show me) yeah, woah-oh-ooh  
I wanna know what love is, let's talk about love  
(I want you to show me) I wanna feel it too  
(I wanna feel what love is) I wanna feel it too  
And I know, and I know, I know you can show me  
Show me what is real, woah (woah), yeah I know  
(I wanna know what love is) hey I wanna know what love  
(I want you to show me), I wanna know, I wanna know, want know  
(I wanna feel what love is), hey I wanna feel, love  
I know you can show me_

Once the song was over, another Foreigner song came on, and the two danced animatedly and doing the air guitar to their song, _Hot Blooded_, and then another lovey-dovey song played and they danced to it as well. As the song was winding down, Max approached them to cut in for the father-daughter dance. The two men shook hands as Booth handed his love over to her father just as he had so graciously passed her on to Booth during the ceremony.

_You're the end of the rainbow, my pot of gold,  
You're daddy's little girl to have and hold.  
A precious gem is what you are,  
A ray of hope, a shining star._

_You're as bright as the sunshine  
Morning's first light  
You warm my day, you brighten my night  
You're sugar you're spice, you're everything nice,  
And you're daddy's little girl._

_A precious gem that's what you are,  
A ray of hope, a shining star._

_You're as bright as the sunshine,  
Morning's first light  
You warm my day, you brighten my night_

_You're sugar you're spice, you're everything nice,  
And you're daddy's little girl._

At the end of the song, Booth cut back in to dance for a few songs before Russ danced with her, and then Parker decided he wanted to give dancing with Bones a try.

Watching his son dance with his wife gave him one of the best feelings he had ever had, and Sweets just had to come over to interrupt his thoughts as he watched them dance and laugh together.

"Agent Booth, I just have to ask. This has been bugging me since I got here, really. Are you aware of the implications of your costumes?"

"I am not sure I know what you are getting at," he lied. He knew. He just didn't feel like being shrinked to death at his wedding reception. "I didn't even have a say in the costumes. I didn't know what I would be coming as until half an hour before this _thing_."

"Interesting. So, I'm to assume that Dr. Bre—uh Dr. _Booth_. Wow, that's weird. So, I'm to assume that she knew about these costumes?" he asked as he recovered from the weird feeling her new name left on his tongue.

"Actually, I think she said Amy came up with the idea. Bones says she did some research, but I don't think she would have worn hers had she known the background of her character."

"Ahh, so you do know. Okay. I find that very interesting."

"You find what interesting, Dr. Sweets?" Brennan asked as she walked up and put her arm around Booth's waist.

"Your costumes. I just find them interesting is all." He said with a smile that was way too bright, even for the happy occasion of the day. It was a gloating smile; a kind of Cheshire smile that screamed trouble for the newlyweds. He decided he was just going to ask. He just had to. It was too much. "Are you aware that Harley Quinn was a psychologist before she fell madly in love with her patient?"

"Yes, I am aware of this. I did my research on the characters so I do know who they are." She said furrowing her brow. She didn't know what he was getting at, but Booth did so he stepped in.

"Sweets can you just drop it. They are just costumes. They don't really mean anything."

"Yes they do, even if it is just on a subconscious level. Booth, I am surprised by your attitude of indifference to being dressed as a clown. You hate clowns, and you," he pointed to Brennan, "you hate psychology. I find it very surprising that you were aware of the fact that your character was a psychologist, and you're fine with it. Dude, this is the biggest case of comic irony I have ever come across in any of my patients."

"We are not in session, Sweets. Drop it." Booth growled. "Not here. Not on our wedding day, at our reception, with our family present are you going to stand there and shrink us. Not happening."

"Actually, if you _really_ want to know the reasoning behind these costumes I will tell you," Brennan spat, "Amy thought it was a cute idea. Russ had told her about how I like to carry big guns and she knew that Booth wore crazy socks and other garish articles. Okay? I agreed once I knew what the characters looked like. Then, as I read through the backgrounds I thought about it, and yeah. These costumes are perfect for us in more than one way that I am sure you can find a psychological mumbo jumpo…"

"Jumbo, mumbo jumbo." Booth whispered out of the side of his mouth towards her, but she ignored his correction and steamed right ahead.

"You can psycho-babble us until the stapes in my inner ear snaps, but I am telling you that all of these things that Booth and I have in common or are in direct opposition of in relation to The Joker and Harley Quinn relationship…all of it is purely coincidental. They are just costumes, Dr. Sweets."

She needed some time to breathe, and Booth took over her line of thought. She let him take over, but she didn't let him get very much out before she interrupted him.

"You are reading entirely too much into this, Sweets…"

"The Joker and Booth both have sordid and disturbing pasts. Amy had no knowledge of that fact as he generally keeps those details to himself. She also knows nothing of Booth's fear of clowns, nor my distaste for your soft science. We just want you to drop this. Especially here and right now."

Angela saw the tension growing over in the corner of the room were the bar was. She knew that Sweets was probably making some observation that the couple did not appreciate. She took it upon herself to speed the events along so that it was now time to cut the cake and relieve the partners from whatever was going on over there.

Everyone gathered around the cakes to watch Booth and Brennan cut the cake and feed each other a bite. Everyone had figured Booth would be the one to shove the cake in her face, but it was Brennan who did it first and Booth laughed as he took some of the cake off of his face and smeared it on hers. They calmed down a little and went to kiss each other, and they each took a little bit of time to lick a little bit of icing off of the others' nose or chin.

When they were cleaned up a little more, they were each handed a glass for a toast. Brennan and Hayley had sparkling cider while everyone else, including Parker and Emma had a little bit of champagne.

Jack came over to give a toast for his friend, "Our lives have been crazy ever since this man walked into the Jeffersonian. He's taken us out of the lab and turned us into super squints. He has had an impact on all of the people in this room, but none more than the woman standing by his side, Dr. Temperance Booth. Dr B. and Booth have been the lynchpins that hold our whole operation together. Without either one of them, there is a good chance that many of the people in this room would have very different lives. When Dr. B and I were buried alive, we were not sure we were going to make it, but one thing was sure. She never thought for one second that Booth was not going to find us. The kind of faith she has in this man is rare, but he has earned it. This man has risked his life for her, and for all of us at one time or another, really. He has taken a bullet for her, and he is just one of the most genuine people I know. Mr. and Mrs. Booth, this is just the beginning; the best is yet to come." He raised his glass for the toast. "Congratulations."

Angela stood up, "I couldn't have said it any better myself, and so I'm going to keep this short. For the past ten years, Brennan has been my best friend, and I would like to think I was hers as well, at least until Booth worked his way into her life. Bren, Sweetie, yes…I am still going to call you Bren," Angela laughed, "Bren, I am still going to be a really close friend, but now Booth is taking over my post as your best friend, just as you are taking the role of his best friend, and that's the way it should be. Best friends in life, and partners in every sense of the word. Congratulations on the start of your wonderful little family."

Angela was going to let Max speak next, but he declined, knowing that there wasn't much he could say to the newlyweds that they didn't already know, and he figured that the things he wanted to say to them should probably be said in private. He knew that his daughter didn't really want her past to be brought up from his words. She had forgiven him, and that's all that he needed. Once he had a chance to speak to them alone, he told them how proud he was of both of them for taking this step together. It had been a long time coming, and he told them they had a lot to look forward to in their future together. He hugged his new son-in-law and gave his daughter a hug and a kiss. He whispered to her to cherish every moment.

Brennan spent the next several minutes over by the candy table munching on several different types of candy. Zack finally saw an opportunity to speak with her alone.

"Congratulations, I wish I had been there." He said sadly.

"I know, but you're here now, and there is no point in dwelling on the past when you cannot change it. Sweets says that you only have a few more minutes before he has to take you back."

"Yes, that is accurate. I just wanted to come and tell you that I am happy for you and I hope that all goes well for you in the coming months. I look forward to your visits."

"Thank you for coming." She hugged him. He couldn't quite reach all the way around her with his restraints, but he tried to make it work. "I miss you. I will come by to see you soon."

"Are you ready to go?" Sweets asked as he approached.

"Yes," Zack answered.

"Dr. Sweets, I want to thank you for arranging to have Zack be in attendance here today. I cannot tell you how much it has meant to me to be able to share this day with him. I just—thank you." She hugged him tightly. The woman hugging him now was nowhere near the short leashed woman barely restraining her urge to strangle him from his earlier comments. For his own safety he didn't mention the tiff from earlier, and he bid Booth and Brennan goodbye.

It wasn't long before most everyone had left except for those who had drove into town. So, that left Russ and his family and Jared, Padme, and Hank along with Parker, Rebecca, and Jack and Angela.

Russ and his family were going to stay another night so they wouldn't have to drive back to Maryland during the night, and Jared and Padme were also staying another night before they took Hank back to the retirement center before heading home themselves.

Rebecca and Parker were going to stay one more night at Jack's and then Rebecca was going to be keeping Parker while the couple went on their honeymoon. Booth and Brennan offered to let Rebecca stay in their apartment with Parker so that he didn't have to be uprooted. All of his things had been moved from Rebecca's over the past few weeks, and she really didn't have much for him there anymore. She agreed to stay at the apartment with Parker. It was closer to his school so she wouldn't have to drive as far.

Booth and Brennan said goodnight to everyone and then made their way back to their home so they could have a wonderful night together before they left to go to the Seychelles in the morning.

* * *

**You can thank the time change for this chapter being posted before church. I forgot about the time change this weekend, and so I woke up and got ready for church, and then discovered I am an idiot and had an extra hour to kill before I left. **

**Please let me know what you think.**

**Next up=Honeymoon in Seychelles.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	32. Generous Upgrades

**Sorry about the delay in posting. I had been experiencing some glitches with FF's alert settings resetting themselves, and I figured some people might also be having the same problem. So I decided to wait a few days to make sure they worked the problem out. I didn't want anyone to miss out on the update. **

**It also took a little longer due to the fact that I had to do a little bit of research on Seychelles. I wanted everything to be fairly accurate. Nothing turns me off of a story faster than incorrect information about real life people, places, or situations, other than poor grammar. That's another huge turnoff. So...yeah, research=blah. Research on top of writing lesson plans means procrastination...big time. :\**

* * *

Jack and Angela offered to put the couple up in the nicest and most expensive hotel in D.C. for their first night as husband and wife, but the newlyweds declined, stating that they would really like to spend their first night in their own apartment. The other part of it was pride, since their friends had already been such gracious hosts for their rehearsal dinner and wedding reception. They just didn't want to feel like they were asking too much of them. Sure, Hodgins could afford it, but Booth and Bones just wanted to do things for themselves.

They walked into the building and got all kinds compliments from people in the lobby and the doorman on their costumes. It was a good thing they had the cover of it being Halloween, otherwise it certainly would have raised some eyebrows.

They got onto the elevator, and the ride up seemed to have taken longer than the entire drive from Hodgins' place. Once on their floor Booth got out his key, and inserted it into the lock and opened the door.

"Don't kick my ass for this, Bones."

To his surprise she giggled and squealed as he reached down with one arm and placed it behind her back and under her arms as the other arm went down around her backside and he swept his bride up into arms and carried her across the threshold of their home as she chided him about his back. She told him that if he threw out his back before their honeymoon she would shoot him. He put her down and assured her that his back was just fine.

When they were finally able to get a glimpse of the apartment they noticed that someone had been there sometime during the day to spread rose petals all over and there was soft music playing in the living room. They walked around and took in their surroundings. Someone had put a lot of effort into transforming the apartment into a paradise at home. There was a heavenly aroma coming from the kitchen as well. They entered the dining room where a bottle of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider was being chilled and a table was set for two. There was a card on the table. Booth picked it up and read it out loud.

_Seeley and Temperance,_

_I was thrilled to receive your wedding invitation, but was devastated that I could not be in attendance due to being needed in London on this day for a chef's seminar. I would like to congratulate you both on this momentous occasion. I have left instructions for my best assistant, Paul Jennings, from my restaurant to prepare you a fine meal and set a lovely mood for the evening. I acquired the help of your dear friend, Angela to let him into your home. I hope you find that everything is cooked to perfection and I wish to see you both soon. _

_Chef Gordon_

"That's very nice of him." Brennan commented. "We should go get out of these costumes, and then come back in here and eat. I had so much candy and other junk earlier, but I am ready for some real food. This must be why Angela insisted that we not have actual food served at the reception."

"You know, there was a time when I had to practically drag you away from things to get you to eat." Booth laughed as he took her hand in his and they walked back into their room to change into some more comfortable clothes.

Booth emerged from the bathroom after removing all of the face paint to find Brennan pulling one of his shirts over her top half. She had gone shopping for professional clothes that she could wear to work but had neglected getting anything comfortable for around the house. Most of the time she was happy stealing his shirts and sweatpants, and he didn't seem to mind it either.

"Let's go enjoy our meal." Booth said as they walked out of their room together.

Truth be told, they were both surprised that neither one of them had jumped each other before the door to the apartment was shut, but thinking about it, Brennan realized that it was because she knew they both had the rest of their lives to devote to each other, and there was no longer any reason to rush through her life. She wanted to take the time to enjoy the small things.

Booth was having similar thoughts as they sat enjoying their blackened chicken alfredo and sparkling cider. When they had first moved their relationship forward, romantically, he felt they had both wasted so much time waiting for the other to be ready and to accept their feelings. They could never seem to be ready at the same time, and even then, they were unsure of the other's feelings. Now, he had her, and she had him. At first their relationship felt like they were constantly trying to make up for lost time, and now it seemed that they had finally caught up. Or maybe they just realized that the time they spent together before they were a couple was paramount to where they are at this moment. If none of that had played out how it did, would they be sitting there right this moment as husband and wife and expecting their first child together?

After finishing dinner, Booth and Brennan danced for almost an hour just hugging and enjoying each other closely and swaying to the soft jazz in the background. They had danced at the reception, but they didn't really get much of a chance to dance with each other with the exception of their first dance as well as the dance to their song plus a few other songs. People kept cutting in to get a chance to dance with the bride. So, they were really just enjoying the uninterrupted time they were spending together.

They had a flight to catch early in the morning, so they decided they should head to bed, knowing they weren't going to get much sleep on their first night as man and wife. Then they could sleep on the plane and adjust to the time change better.

Their night was filled with tender loving passion, uninhibited wild love-making, teeth, gasping breaths, beading sweat, moans, pleasure, fingernail scrapes, tongues, tenderness, lips, toe-curling kisses, stolen breaths, orgasms in the double digits, gentle caresses, nipping, soothing, giggles, and growls as they devoured each other.

The morning came to early for them, but knowing they were setting out on a wonderful adventure together they were excited to get their day started as they made their way to the airport.

They were approaching the security check points when Brennan asked, "Booth, are you sure we have everything?"

"Yes, positive. Tickets, IDs, clothes (not that we will need them much), underwear, shoes, swimwear, sunscreen, daily schedule, reservation receipt, phones, laptops, my gun…"

"No, no gun. You don't need it."

"That's like saying we don't need oxygen."

"No it isn't. You cannot live without oxygen, but you will most certainly not die if you don't have your gun."

"Bones, I am FBI; I carry a gun. It's what I do. Besides, you and I both know that things happen when you least expect it. We have experienced far too much for me to be naïve enough to think that we will be completely safe."

They walked through the security checkpoint where Booth showed his FBI badge and credentials regarding his gun and made their way to where their flight was going to board in the next few minutes.

"Booth we will be on an island in the middle of the ocean. There are a total of sixteen villas on the Frégate Island, and it is closed to tourists. Only people staying in the villas are allowed on the island. Besides it is about thirty-four miles from Mahé, the main island of Seychelles."

"I'm going to love being stuck on a private island with you, and secluded or not, I'm taking my gun. Even if there isn't any crazy psycho killers on the island there might be some crazy jungle bear or something like that that might jump out and attack us."

"Jungle bear? Booth, there's no such…oh, you were kidding."

"Yeah, I was kidding about that, but I have to admit that I am a little uneasy about the fact that the islands are so close to Somalia. I don't want to encounter any pirates, but if we do..." He shrugged and trailed off and they were silent for a few minutes.

"I should probably call Angela, and tell her to make sure that the apartment is kid friendly. I know we tried to clean some things up this morning, but we were kind of rushed leaving. I just want to make sure Parker doesn't get an eyeful of something that he shouldn't see."

Brennan picked up her cell phone to make the call quickly before they were called to board the plane.

"Hey, Ange, it's me…yeah, we're at the airport. We haven't left yet…They should be calling us to board anytime…thanks. Can you do me a favor before Rebecca and Parker go over to the apartment?...Could you drop by the apartment on the way to work to make sure we got everything cleaned up?...Yes, we made a mess of the place…No, it shouldn't be as bad as it was last time…no mac n cheese."

"Bones! You told her?"

"Booth, be quiet, I'm trying to hear Angela, and this place is noisy enough…sorry Ange, Booth's being a prude…"

"What? I am not being a prude! I just don't think the details of our sex life is any of Angela's business!" Booth said a little too loudly, and people were starting to stare.

"Seeley, calm down. I _know_ you are not a prude, trust me, _I know_, but right now, I am trying to ask Angela to make sure our apartment is free of body prints from the chocolate syrup you just _had to_ douse me with last night…Yes, Ange, he poured chocolate on me…Well, we were in a hurry this morning before we left. We are sure that we cleaned everything up, but we just want to make sure…yes, thank you. Bye."

"Bones…"

"Seeley, I didn't tell her everything. I didn't go into detail. I just told her of the giant mess we had to clean up. I thought you knew me better than that! I know that what is between us is _ours_."

She was crying. He couldn't tell if it was the hormones or if she was genuinely upset. He hadn't meant to upset her. They were calling their flight to board, and as soon as they were on their plane and in their seats he comforted her and let her know that he wasn't mad and told her that he shouldn't have jumped to such conclusions.

It wasn't long into their very long flight to the main island of Seychelles that they had both fallen asleep. Not too long after that, Brennan was rushing from her seat to the restroom. Booth was still asleep when a flight attendant came to wake him up.

"Sir, are you Seeley Booth?" She asked.

His voice was rough from sleep, "Yes." He just noticed his wife was not in her seat next to him.

She saw the concern in his eyes, "Your wife asked me to come get you. She has been experiencing some nausea and vomiting for the past half hour. We currently have her laying on one of our cots in the little room up there. We gave her some ginger ale to help. It seems to be working, but she was asking for you."

"Okay, thank you for letting me know. Can you take me to her?"

He stood and followed her into the room that the flight attendants use for rest on long flights.

"How many weeks along is she?" The nice lady asked Booth.

"Seventeen weeks and two days."

"How exciting," she said as she smiled at Booth. "Here she is; we really aren't supposed to let anyone in here, but Maria recognized her as the author of one of her favorite books. She just felt really sorry for her after hearing her get sick in the bathroom earlier. You can stay for a little while until the nausea passes, and I will come in here to let you know when you need to return to your seats. The nausea should get better as she gets used to being in the air. One thing that can help is adjusting the temperature in the cabin. I can make sure to set it a few degrees cooler, and I can keep those ginger ales coming."

"Thank you so much…"

"Allison. I will be around if you need me; just let me know."

After awhile, the nausea subsided and the couple returned to their seats. Brennan reclined her seat as far back as possible. Laying horizontally had helped a great deal, and she was thankful that the seats reclined back a decent amount. Booth leaned his seat back as well, and laid on his side as he rested his hand on Brennan's stomach, occasionally rubbing his hand and fingers lovingly over the proof of their love. She slept most of the way to the main island.

From there they had to get on a smaller plane to make the fifteen minute flight out to the island. The only way to access the small private island was by small plane. The waters around the island were too shallow for a port because of the reef. It was also easier to keep the island truly private by only allowing people on or off by plane.

The ride in the small plane was turbulent and rough. It took all Brennan had to keep the nausea from taking over. In the end, the nausea had won, and she had vomited several times.

Once they got to the island to check in they were handed keys to the Presidential Villa. Booth told the concierge that it was a mistake because they had only paid for one of the regular villas. The man at the desk handed him a printed out letter from their friends and read it out loud to Brennan.

_Mr. and Mrs. Seeley Booth,_

_I hope your trip was as good as a long trip can be. Since you declined our offer to get you a hotel room for your first night together, I bugged Jack into upgrading your villa. He decided to give you guys the ultimate upgrade. After reading the description of the place you guys are at, it is definitely going on the list of places Jack and I will be going to someday. Wow. Anyway, we upgraded you to the Presidential Villa. We did this behind your backs so that you couldn't argue with us and tell us you didn't need it. Yes, Bren, I know you don't need it, but call it a __gift__ from yours truly. After all of those years of you two dancing around each other, you deserve this for finally getting your acts together. We love you bunches. _

_Angela and Jack_

The man at the counter informed them that the Presidential Villa was the highest upgrade they had, and that it was actually not just a villa. It was three villas placed close together. It also was the only villa that had its own private pool. The rest of the villas shared the community pool. Each of the sixteen villas on the island had the own stretch of private beach. Frégate Island also boasted a staff of a butler and a maid service for each villa.

Booth thanked the man and then helped get their luggage to their villa as Brennan took in the much need fresh air and steady ground on the short trolley ride to the secluded villa. It was hidden deep in the foliage and was just a short walk from their own private beach.

Once they were settled into the first of the three villas, they changed into some swimwear and light clothing. The temperature on the island was a rather humid seventy-five degrees. They decided that they both needed to relax and cool off after their long journey. They figured a short dip in the pool would be good for them before they did anything else. They took a short walk around to look at their other two villas and then went to their pool.

The pool itself didn't even look like a pool. It looked like a tropical oasis of fresh water. There was sand and palm trees around the edges of the water, and the only tell that it was a pool instead of a naturally occurring body of water was the deck around the deeper end of the pool and the distinct chlorine smell. There was also a hot tub on the deck.

After relaxing in the cool water for a little bit, curiosity got the better of Booth.

"Bones?"

They were holding onto each other. Booth was still in comfort mode from her earlier bouts of nausea, and so they were simply enjoying the feel of being in each others' arms. Brennan pulled her head from his shoulder slightly to look up at him.

"Hmm."

"So, you know how Jack and Angela upgraded us to the Presidential Villa?"

"Yes."

"Okay, well, I was looking at the receipt and I was just wondering if you could help me out a little. You know, translate it into English?"

"Booth, while the primary language among these islands is Seychellois Creole, they use the same numeric system we do."

"No, the uh, the currency exchange. Can you do currency conversions in your head?"

"Sure. Can I assume that the currency in question is the Euro?"

"Yeah. The receipt gives the total in Euro. I thought you said the currency used here is called the rupee."

"It is, but many of these tourist locations, such as this island, use the Euro for convenience for the customer. Okay, one Euro equals a dollar and thirty-six cents. How much did the receipt say?"

Booth's throat automatically went dry. He knew that the amount that was being spent per night was more than some people make in a year, and was actually, in fact, right above the poverty line. He couldn't do the calculation in his head, so he gave the number to his personal dictionary slash thesaurus slash encyclopedia slash human calculator. "The receipt says ten thousand Euros per night, and since we are staying for five nights there is a total of fifty thousand Euros. Can you convert that into English?"

"Dollars," she corrected. "Booth, all you have to do is move the decimal over. It will be about $13,600 per night, and then multiply that by five. Almost $70,000 total."

"BONES! WE CAN'T STAY HERE!"

"Booth, it is already paid for. If Jack and Angela had not been so generous and upgraded us we still would have been spending over three thousand per night!"

"I cannot stay somewhere when someone's yearly salary is being spent on one night in this place. I…"

"Come on, Booth. This is actually a good thing. Rather than hoarding his money as he used to, Jack spent money on us so that we can enjoy ourselves on our honeymoon. Not that it wouldn't have been enjoyable before, but just think about the amount of time we will be spending in those three villas, out here in the pool, and out on our private beach."

"While those thoughts are all very appealing, I still cannot get over the amount of money being spent on us."

"You're worth it Booth. We both are. We deserve this. Not only that, but Jack spending his money here is actually a good thing. The amount of money he spent gets put into this community. While Seychelles isn't a poor country, it is a good thing for Dr. Hodgins to put his money back into the world where it can do some good."

"Always using logic. That only makes me feel slightly better."

"I know of ways to make you feel much better," she purred into his ear before she started to nibble on the sensitive flesh right below his ear.

"Here?" He shrieked.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Bones, we are outside!"

"At our private pool, in the middle of a tropical jungle, surrounded by trees."

"You want to have sex in the pool?" He asked, still in disbelief.

"I don't see why we can't." She said still working her sinful mouth over his neck and jaw. She had her arms locked together behind his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist. It seemed to her that while his big brain was being a prude, his little brain was making his presence known proudly. "And judging by the impressive pressure I feel against my core right now, you are just as thrilled by the thought of making love outside in the middle of the day in this pool as I am."

"Okay, yes. I will admit that the idea is thrilling, but are you sure? We could just relax for a bit. I know the seventeen hour plane ride was not exactly a picnic for you, and then the fifteen minutes we spent being tossed around in that sardine can, well that made my Seeley Booth stomach of steel want to…"

"Okay, that's enough. No more talk about getting sick, please. Let's just relax out here for a little bit longer. I imagine the plane ride hasn't been too kind on your back." She reached her hands around his back and massaged the smooth wet skin that covered the hard muscular planes of Booth's back and shoulders.

"My back is fine, Bones, but I'd let you do that for the rest of my life…ugh, right there. Yeah."

They continued holding and massaging each other gently and tenderly as they kissed and loved on each other for half an hour before Brennan felt her stomach rumble.

"Let's go inside for now. I'm quite hungry, and I would like to eat before we do anything today."

* * *

**Review.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	33. Like No Other Place

After eating a nice lunch of fresh island fruits and sandwiches prepared by the cook, they took a stroll down the pathway winding around the foliage from their main villa down to their private beach. It wasn't a long walk, but it seemed to take longer than it should have as they took in their surroundings as they walked.

Brennan was a seasoned world traveler and was still fascinated by the nature and wildlife present on this island. _Hodgins would be beside himself if he were here, not that one could literally be next to one's self. I never have truly understood why people use that phrase. _It was unlike anything she had really seen before.

Booth, who was also no stranger to traveling, had never seen anything quite so vibrant and teeming with life. He had been to several countries in the Middle East in his time as an Army Ranger, and he had been to London with Bones. But nothing compared to the simple beauty of this island.

For the most part, the island seemed almost untouched by human habitation. Sure, there were structures such as the villas, the pools, the narrow winding roads that lead from the main office to each villa, but other than that, there was nothing that marred the beauty of the island. There were no tall offensive buildings. All of the villas were made of natural materials, and looked like they truly belonged to the land. All of the power lines were buried rather than hanging through the air weaving through the foliage. There were no sounds of the city. The air was fresh and clean. Nothing was tainted by pollution. There were no fences staking claim and forcing boundaries on the open land. The trees and plants were not being chopped down or cleared to make room for human existence. The wildlife was a very prominent feature as well; and none seemed to fear the human presence.

They arrived at the white sandy beach to see the cerulean blue water of the ocean almost blend with the blue in the sky. It was hard to tell where the ocean stopped and the sky began.

The couple had carried with them some huge beach towels as well as some leftover fruit from their lunch and plenty of fresh water. Brennan spread out their towels while Booth found something from the line of foliage a few feet away to make some shade so that the sun wouldn't make their fruit or water warm.

Brennan sat on her towel and grabbed the sunscreen out of her bag. Before she had a chance to open it and pour some in her hand, Booth took the bottle from her and told her to lay face down so he could get her back, but she found it difficult to lay face down given her tummy was in the way. Booth told her to sit up and sit between his legs, and he would get her back anyway.

She untied the tie on the back of her top, and Booth asked her what she was doing. She stated that it would give him better access to her back so that he could rub freely without having to worry about hold the strap back. Besides, there was no one around. They were on a private beach.

It was one of the selling points that had originally caught Brennan's attention when searching for destinations. She wanted some place that neither of them had been to, and also wanted to go somewhere that wasn't going to be overrun by tourists. The island offered that, plus the protection of privacy that Cancun, or the Bahamas would not have offered. After the past few years with her success as an author, she did find it increasingly difficult be out in the public eye without worrying about someone taking her picture every once in awhile. It really was a surprise to Booth and Brennan that they had been able to keep their relationship a secret as long as they had. Though, they supposed it might have had something to do with the fact that people had speculated for years on whether they were together or not, and to see them in public together was not strange sight or out of their realm of normal. At any rate, the last thing either one of them wanted was to be photographed and stalked on their honeymoon.

Booth warmed the lotion in his hands before he applied it to her bare back and shoulders. He had gotten too much and he knew it, but he would kick himself if she ended up burnt because he didn't put enough lotion on her silky white skin. He tried his best to spread it around the other parts of her that he could reach. Her neck, her arms, her sides, and he even made a point to rub some of her cute little delicate ears before returning to rub the rest into her back. The smooth warmth of the lotion felt so good to her combined with the gentle strength of his loving hands caressing her skin as he rubbed in the lotion. He paid special attention to her lower back since he knew that lately that had been a problem for her. The slight amount of extra weight she was carrying let its presence be known through her back pain. She didn't ever really come right out and say it, but his own experience with back pain told him she was displaying some of the signs that it was indeed bothering her. She was slow to move when she got up and she winced ever so slightly every time she made a movement that her back protested. At seventeen weeks, she wasn't even very big yet; he wondered how much worse it would get.

Brennan reveled in the fact that Booth always seemed to know exactly what she needed, even if she never verbalized it. He just _knew_. If she still needed proof that they were meant to be together, she didn't, but if she did, that was it. He always _knew_. He _knew_ her; he _knew_ how to read her; he _knew_ what she liked; he _knew_ what she despised; he _knew_ the truth of her. How could she deny the truth? It was the foundation of her world, their relationship, professionally and personally.

When he was done with her back he told her to lay back and let him rub her front with a waggle of his eyebrows. She didn't bother to keep her top up around her breasts, and for that he was thankful. He loved her full breasts, but now that they were even more full and preparing to nourish their child they were like an amusement park to him. His fascination with them had grown tenfold since finding out she was pregnant.

However, he wanted to end at his prized destination, so he started with her feet and legs. He straddled her body facing her feet, which gave her a welcome view of his derrière. She reached up and gave one cheek a nice squeeze, and when he turned around to shoot her an amused look she had turned her head pretending she was looking elsewhere and feigning innocence. After turning his attention back to her legs, he took one of her long smooth legs into his hands and pulled the top of her foot to his face to place tiny kisses on the skin, and then he worked his way up her leg to her knee before warming some lotion in his hands to apply it to the leg he had peppered with kisses. He rubbed the creamy lotion into her skin, making sure to get the back of her leg as well since she was unable to lay on her tummy and then he moved on to the other leg, starting over with the trailed kisses up to her knee before applying the lotion.

He made a movement to straddle her facing her upper body this time. Before he made a move to do anything else, he leaned down to her radiant face and stroked her cheek as he gave her a toe-curling kiss. No words were exchanged. They didn't need them. Everything they needed the other to know they found in each others' eyes.

He reached for the bottle of sunscreen and treated her arms much as he had her legs, peppering kisses all the way from her fingertips to her neck, and then finally came the main attraction. Her tummy and breasts.

He paid special attention to her breasts with his mouth tracking kisses from one to the other. Swirling his tongue around each peak from time to time. He pulled away knowing that if he spent much more time there that she wouldn't get sunscreen put on her tummy or chest, and he wouldn't get any rubbed on him either. Considering their proximity to the equator, that could be a bad thing if they ended up making love and then falling asleep in the sun. It wouldn't be much of a problem for Booth, who was already fairly tan due to spending a great amount of time outside with Parker, but Brennan was fair skinned. So much so that Booth was fairly certain that any sunburn acquired here would result in instant melanoma for her. He couldn't let that happen. So after pulling away he told her to relax as she had tensed up as the skin of his lips left her chest.

He once again warmed up the protective lotion and smoothed his hands over each breast, rubbing and groping. He moved his hands to her shoulder, clavicle, and neck to make sure she was all covered before giving her breasts another good pass. Before applying lotion to her tummy he leaned down to place a sweet kiss just below her navel. His hands traveled deliciously over her rounded belly and dipped slightly below the waistband of her bathing suit bottoms to ensure that if the material moved no skin would be left unprotected.

She returned the favor of rubbing sunscreen all over him as he had done for her, and it too had turned into a full body massage. She loved to rub her hands over his sculpted body. She paid particular attention to his chest. As fascinated with hers as he was, she was just as infatuated with the solid pectoral muscles covered by his highly evolved smooth tanned skin. She gave his nipples a few good nips as she giggled into his chest when he ran his fingers lightly up her sides. She then pinned his arms to his side so that she could finish rubbing the lotion on him without more distraction than his perfect body already provided without him touching her. She then placed one last kiss to his chest, right on the scar that represented his undeniable dedication to her and her safety. She didn't give him the luxury of warming the lotion in her hands first and she just poured it onto his skin. She watched on with giggling delight as his muscles tensed under the cold cream. He muttered an expletive which caused her giggles to come harder before she smoothed the lotion over his skin.

After rubbing him down from head to toe, Brennan scooted over on her towel to make room for Booth to lounge next to her. She had laid out a separate towel for him, but neither of them had any interest in him moving over to that one.

"Bones?"

"Hmm?" She responded with her eyes closed as she took in the warmth of the sun and the slightly sweaty body next to hers.

"Can you tell me what's going on in there this week?" He asked as he stroked his hand over their wonderful creation.

"Well, at seventeen weeks one of the most miraculous things change in the formation of the fetus. Are you ready for this?"

"That gorgeous grin of yours tells me I'm going to like this."

"You will like it, but my profession makes it even more of a special development for me. This is the week where the baby's skeleton is changing from a soft cartilage into bones."

His face lit up at the mention of bones and the sheer delight evident in her face. "Really? That's incredible! I can't believe everything that is going on in there. It's…wow."

"I know. Booth?"

"Hmm?"

She didn't say anything, but before he knew it she had pounced on him devouring him in a kiss that expressed everything she had to offer him, in the amazement of the life they had created together. He returned the kiss feverishly and ran his hands all over her bare skin.

She suddenly drew back as she said, "Let's go for a swim." She took a few steps away and tugged the strings on each side of her bottoms and then let them fall to the sand next to the towel. Then she took off jogging toward the water. She turned back slightly to watch his slightly shocked face and told him he had better follow her with her with a cock of one eyebrow.

Abandoning every Puritanical bone in his body he shucked his trunks and ran after her without a second though. They both wore face-splitting grins as they brought their bodies together standing in water that came to their mid-thighs. He lifted her slightly and twirled her in the water, with both of them laughing and enjoying each others' delight. They shared a few kisses as Booth waded them both deeper into the cool blue water. When they got deep enough for the water to give Brennan's body some buoyancy to counteract gravity so that he wouldn't have to hold her full weight, Brennan wrapped her legs around Booth as he held her and walked out a little further.

The water was lapping up around them giving their kisses a slightly salty taste as they explored each others' mouths. Brennan took his fleshy lips between her teeth and tugged gently, and Booth let out a moan. She lifted her hips up and shifted around until she found herself positioned right above his erection. She slid down onto him about an inch and swiveled her hips around slightly before she sunk down and took in the rest of him.

They both experienced a hitch in their breath as she drew him inside, the feel of the cool water around their sensitive warm flesh providing a feeling that neither of them had experienced before.

They moved in tandem with the friction of clean wet skin moving against skin as they sucked, nipped, and soothed the skin of their lover creating a vortex of pleasure that engulfed the newlyweds as they climaxed together. Both thought that it was one of the hardest orgasms they had experienced. Booth honestly thought he was going to pass out and they were both going to drown, and once he was able to move slightly he guided them to more shallow waters. Finally when he knew that she could stand on her own, he moved them to even more shallow waters and unlocked her legs from around him so that she could walk the rest of the way to their towels on her own. He would have tried to carry her, but not only would she protest, he wasn't even sure he could handle his own weight.

They made it back to the towels, and Booth dug out their water and leftover fruit. After stealing a few more tender kisses from his Bones he opened the container of strawberries and popped one in her mouth. She moaned savoring the sweet juicy flesh of the fruit. Booth took a bite of the banana that was in the container.

After a few more minutes of enjoying the sun and regaining their strength, they packed up their stuff and began the walk back to their villa for dinner.

"What do you think we should do tomorrow?" Brennan asked. "We could go to the main island and do a few things or we could stay here and…"

"No, I would like to go to the main island sometime. We could do it tomorrow. It really doesn't matter when. There is plenty of time to lounge around and enjoy each other. If you're up for the plane ride we can go, or maybe you would like to fly over there a little early before our flight on our last day here."

"That sounds like a good idea. I really don't feel like thinking about the plane ride at the moment. There is plenty to do here on this island. We could go snorkeling, enjoy our pool, spend more time back on the beach, or we could spend time making love in every room of each of the three villas, that is…if you can keep up with me."

"Bones! Are you questioning my virility?"

"You're virility is not in question. Virility refers to the male's ability to father children and is the equivalent to the female's fertility. I'm referring to your refractory period, which is…"

"I know what it is," he snapped. "Tell me, have I had any problem getting…you know, getting _it_ up?"

"Not at all, but…"

"Have I taken too long to get _it_ up?" He rushed his next question, cutting her off.

"No, but you are going to be forty this month. I am just saying that if you do start taking a little longer that it is normal and nothing to be worried about. Besides, that isn't what I was…"

He cut her off again. "Hey, I can keep up, alright. I have been doing just fine; you don't have to worry about me slowing down until I'm eighty. Can we just not talk about something that isn't going to happen for a long time?"

"Okay." They walked in silence for a few minutes. "Booth?"

"What?"

"I didn't mean to make you upset."

"I know. Look, I'm not upset. Really. I just…It's not something that men like to think about, okay? We don't like to think about having problems with our manhood."

"I'm sorry you took it like that. I was really just referring to the fact that I can hardly keep up with myself right now. These damn hormones make me feel like a horny teenager."

"I know, Bones. You jump me every chance you get. I'm a guy; can't say I mind. If I so much as walk into the room and we're alone, before I know it your tongue is down my throat and you're groping me. Well, there was that one time when we definitely were not alone. I'm sure you wouldn't have done that if you knew that Parker was going to walk in behind me." He laughed. "I really should talk to him and make sure he doesn't need counseling after that one." He added as an afterthought.

"He was supposed to be with Rebecca! How was I supposed to know? Besides, I think he's fine. All he said was _ewww gross_ and ran to his room."

"Still maybe I should have Sweets watch him again, and just make sure."

"Booth. He's fine."

"Fine."

The walk into their villa to find that dinner was already prepared for them. The cook had prepared spinach stuffed flounder fillets with an apple pie desert. Booth wasn't too thrilled about the spinach, but he did eat the flounder and he thought the apple pie more than made up for the spinach.

Brennan assured Booth that flounder is a safe fish for her to eat as long as she only ate one serving and didn't have it again for awhile. He had read in one of her books about some fish not being safe for pregnant women. It warmed her metaphorical heart to know that he had put so much effort in learning about what she is going through and how to care for the safety of their unborn child. Not only had he read the books that she bought him as an expectant father, he read her books on what she could expect from her perspective as the expectant mother.

After the maid had cleaned up after dinner and left the villa, the couple took some time to lounge around in the living area of the villa.

The living area had sumptuous décor and ultra-luxurious amenities. The furniture was all natural and woody tones with elegant sheer white fabric accents draped over the windows. The living area was a partial indoor and outdoor room. There was a wall that opened up completely out to the deck.

They had pulled the wall all the way open to give them the full view from their living area. The deck overlooked the pool and the view just over the pool opened up from the trees so that it looked down the hill and onto the beach where they were earlier in the day. They watched the sun set into the sky as the bright colors danced off of the water causing it to give a shimmer neither of them had ever seen anywhere else in the world. This island was like no other place they had ever been.

* * *

**Review please.**

**Thank you for your continued reading and support. **

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	34. Your Jewelry is Safe

**Happy Thanksgiving! Too bad it's a Bones-less Thursday. To make up for not having the show on today, I figured I would post a sweet little smutty chapter. At least no new episode means we won't have to see Booth with Hannah. Enjoy.**

* * *

Wednesday morning the light filtered through the sheer white canopy that hung over the king size bed illuminating the two sleeping people that rested atop the cool white sheets. It had gotten stuffy in the room the night before so the windows were left open to draw in the cool breeze off of the ocean. The fabric on the window treatments and the canopy all danced in the wind.

Booth woke up to the sensation of Brennan's hair tickling his face as it blew in the wind. It was still early, but he couldn't go back to sleep. There was something about watching your pregnant wife sleep in your arms on your honeymoon that kept his attention trained on her. Maybe it was the fact that she was now his wife. Or maybe it was because she was carrying his child. Her perfect naked form that was exposed to his view helped keep his attention, and junior's, too, but it was more than that. It was the way the soft light filtering through the room and canopy seemed to make her satiny white skin glow even more than it already did. It was the slight sheen of perspiration that was ever present in the high humidity. It was the slight flush of her face and cheeks from sleeping. It was the curvature of her body, where light and shadows highlighted the rise and fall of her skin on her breasts and their baby bump. It was the scent of her hair. Their combined scents aroused him almost as much as the view of her laying there carrying his child, as his wife.

He laid there taking in everything, and watching her sleep for half an hour before breaking his resolve to let her rest. Is there a better way to wake up than being orally pleasured by one's husband? Booth didn't seem to think she'd mind.

Being careful to not wake her right away, he trailed his warm open mouth down from her breasts to her stomach. He spent a few minutes showing his love there as well as saying a few words to their baby rested within. "Hey, baby. It's me, daddy; I love you. Mommy's about to get a little loud, so just ignore it, okay." He kissed her stomach and smiled into it once more before trailing kisses down between her legs. He gently spread them for better access, once again being careful not to wake her up.

He licked up her folds and landed his mouth right on her bundle of nerves. He closed his lips around her nub and gently sucked, swirling his tongue lightly in circles around the sensitive area. When she started to moan and move slightly he eased off and ran his tongue down to her opening and took a plunge inside, exploring her and taking in her sweet taste, the only taste better than apple pie. He brought one of his fingers up to take over the swirling around her clit to bring her back to the apex. He took her to the edge again before backing off. She still wasn't awake yet, he wasn't going to let her orgasm without being fully aware, so he started humming and making some moaning noises as he lapped at her moist center.

Finally, the pleasure started to register in her conscious mind as the veil of sleep lifted from her. The moans and sounds of her husband started to filter through her mind. As she became more aware in her awakened state she started to moan and move more under his ministrations. Her breathing sped up again now coming in shorter more desperate gasps as once again he brought her to the edge. As she reached her climax and tumbled into the abyss of her morning orgasm, she screamed and squealed as her mind fought between the succumbing to the pleasure and keeping control of her necessary involuntary bodily functions, such as breathing and her heart rate. Her heart seemed to be pounding in her ears as she flooded his mouth with her fluids. He lapped up the moisture and eased her down from the orgasm. He looked up to watch the rapid rise and fall of her chest.

Her eyes were glassy and half lidded when he trailed kisses from between her legs up to her stomach and over her breasts. He took a nipple into his mouth and took the other breast in his hand and kneaded it softly in time with his tongue swirling her pebbled peak. He nipped at it a little before soothing the sting of pain with his tongue. He let the rosy nipple pop out of his mouth, and growled as his mouth took in the other nipple giving it the same treatment.

Brennan ran one hand down Booth's side while the other hand toyed with the short hair at the base of his neck. He finally released her other breast and went straight in for a kiss.

"Good morning, Bones." He smiled against her lips.

"Good morning, Boothy Bear."

He pulled back and stared at her. _Since when does my Bones use nicknames_? "Hey! How come it's okay for you to call me _Boothy Bear_, but I can't call you _Bonesy Bear_?"

"Because, I said so."

"Wait, how's that fair?"

"Because, I said so."

"Bonesy...umph! BONES!"

"Don't you remember what I told you? You call me _that_, and I _will_ kick you in the testicles. You're lucky I just elbowed you. We're on our honeymoon, so for now your _jewelry_ is safe."

"Jewels, Bones. My jewels are safe." He said rolling his eyes then he muttered, "Thank God."

He then realized that while he had given her a fairly explosive morning orgasm, he had yet to be taken care of. Well, he was going to fix that!

"I won't call you that anymore, and I guess it is okay for you to call me _Boothy Bear_. In the bedroom only; you got that? I don't need the guys at work to hear it and start in on me for it."

"Okay, Boothy Bear, get up so _Mommy Bear_ can go pee," she said as she shoved him off of her. She got up and headed toward the bathroom.

"Can I call you that?"

"Call me what?" She asked from the bathroom.

"_Mommy Bear_."

"I will think about it. It's better than _Bonesy Bear_, but I really like being called just Bones.

She flushed and reentered the room. "Okay, well, just think about it. Until then, I reserve the right to use it. So, come get back in bed, Mommy Bear. We have some things to finish before we do anything today.

Her bright blue eyes that were still slightly glassy from earlier darkened a considerable amount. She walked around to his side of the bed and climbed on top of him. As she straddled him, she leaned down and took his ear lobe in her mouth before tracing the outer shell of his ear with her tongue. She whispered in his ear, "I love you," as she sank down on his still hard erection. As she slid down further onto him, she had to raise her face and head away from his because her belly was starting to get in the way. She could no longer just lay across him at any angle she wanted.

He could see her frustration as she was pulling further from his face. He reached his hands down to her hips and stopped her. She looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Baby, even in missionary style we have been having troubles being as close together as we both want. There's something I would like to try, if that's okay with you. I did a little bit of research on…"

"My Seeley Booth, the prude, researched sexual positions?" she asked with bright eyes.

"Bones, I'm not a prude! I'm just a private person. What do I have to do to prove that to you?"

"I know; I'm just teasing you. Anyways, please continue."

"I looked online on some forums where people were giving advice on good positions for pregnant women to have sex in, and I think that there was one that I think we would both find satisfying."

"Okay," she slid off of him, "what do we do?"

He guided her off of him, "I am going to turn on my side, and I want you to do the same with your back to me."

"Okay," she turned her back to him. The feel of his sculptured chest against her back was exactly the kind of skin contact she had been craving, but lacked in their sexual activities as of late. "Now what?"

"Okay, now take this leg," he said tapping her top leg, "and lift it up, yeah, like that. Now bring it behind my legs for stability. Yeah, okay. Now, all I have to do is enter you from behind. While we aren't facing each other, we still have a good amount of skin contact, and you can lean back and kiss me."

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

He positioned himself at her core, and brought them together in a deliciously slow thrust in, whispering in her ear, "I love you, Temperance." This was a new angle for both of them. Neither one had ever had sex like this. While the penetration was not as deep, it still brought a great deal of pleasure to both of them as he hit her in all the right places.

He was placing hot wet kisses up and down her shoulder and on the side of her neck when she turned her head and leaned back slightly as he brought his mouth to hers where their tongues fought for dominance, neither of them getting enough of each others' taste.

Booth sped up his movements and reached around to rub circles on the small bundle of nerves as they both got closer and closer to the precipice. She rolled her hips around seeking to assist in the tantalizing pleasure she was experiencing. She tensed up as the tight coil that built up in her lower abdomen sprung. She exploded in frantic flutters around his length causing him to lose his grip on control. As he spilled into her, he was certain that he was going to pass out.

When he finally realized he hadn't lost consciousness, he brought his hand that still rested between her legs and ran it up and down the side of her belly. He slipped from insider her so that he could reposition himself to be able to reach her face with his better. She helped him out by turning to face him.

"I love you, Seeley Booth."

"I love you, too, Temperance Booth."

Together they laid there languidly loving on each other for the next fifteen minutes before they decided to shower, separately, to get a start on their day.

Separately, yeah, right!

The bathroom was elegant with natural stone tiles and mahogany wood trim. It was a large bathroom that also had a sliding wall inside the shower that opened up to the outside where one could shower in the natural setting surrounded by trees and other island plants.

The floor of the shower was not tile; instead there were tiny smooth river pebbles of many different colors. Booth loved the natural feel of everything in the bathroom, but if he were being honest, the pebbles hurt the soles of his scarred and battered feet more than he cared to admit.

In addition to the double showerheads, there was a waterfall over the wall opposite the sliding wall. Booth was in the shower and was just about done. He decided to stand under the waterfall for a few minutes. He stood facing the wall and let the water beat down on his body and massage his muscles. He was just about to turn around and turn the water off when he felt Brennan come up behind him. Her belly hit him first before her arms reached up to span his waist from behind.

"Sorry, but the thought of you in here naked and wet with the water rolling down your skin, well…I uh…the hormones are making me feel like a horny teenager again." She said as she brought her lips to his back right between his scapulae. She ran her hands up and down his front side.

"Well, as long as you're in here, and we're both naked…we might as well take advantage of the circumstances." He said.

"Well, yeah, because it would completely irresponsible for us to waste any more water than we already have because of showering alone," she reasoned, "It would be illogical to continue doing so."

"Well, you can't fool around with logic."

"No."

He turned around and grabbed her shampoo after he positioned her under the water to get her hair wet. He washed her hair for her, and then lathered her up with his body wash so that she smelled like the perfect mixture of the both of them.

As the water continued to steam up the air around them Booth brought his lips to her throat and suckled. He marked her and she knew it. She thought back to something Rebecca had said to them awhile back, and she giggled.

"What are thinking about, Giggles?" He asked her before continuing on her neck and shoulders.

"Do you remember when Rebecca saw our mutual hickeys and called them, _his and hers hickeys_?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I think you just gave me one to match the one I gave you earlier." She said delightedly.

Who would have ever thought that she would enjoy being marked as much as she liked being marked by Booth? Certainly not her. She never let anyone get away with it before him. Anytime she so much as felt someone going for it, she would shove them off and it would be _game over_ for that guy. Another thing she knew for certain was that she enjoyed marking him as well. She made sure to let it be known that he was taken. _He was hers_.

He shut the water off and told her they had to leave the shower now, or face needing to rewash everything. He handed her a towel, and they dried off separately so that they didn't gravitate back towards each other and not leaving the villa at all. As it was, they had plans for the day, and they were running late. They had made plans with the hotel manager to have a nature trail tour of the small island. Today, they were going hiking around the island looking at the wildlife and flora that is completely unique to the island.

* * *

**Happy Thanksgiving.**

**Please review. Nature hike and a call home to Parker should be in the next chapter.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	35. Missing Home

The hotel Booth and Brennan were staying at runs a daily tour of the small island. They had signed up for the tour the day before after their cook had pointed out the pamphlet and suggested they go. The pamphlet boasted that the Seychelles has eighty-one known species of plants that cannot be not found anywhere else in the world other than on the islands, several of which are unique to this island alone.

They showed up at the designated meeting spot for the tour. They were going to meet with their guide along with two other couples that had signed up for the tour.

The plan was to hike the trail that weaved through the jungle around the small island. The total length of the trail was going to be about a mile and a half. Brennan figured this would be good exercise for her provided she took it easy. Booth was going to make sure that she took it easy, too.

Booth also reveled in the idea of getting out into the fresh air. He had not really had many regular morning runs like those that he used to take before he moved in with Brennan, because her neighborhood just did not have a good place to run. He still prided himself in being in top physical condition. Anything less would be completely unacceptable, especially in his line of work. Aside from the martial arts that he had just started taking with his family, he would spend extra time in the gym at the Hoover, so this little outdoor adventure was going to be welcome on his part, too.

Once all the parties had arrived, the guide, Tania introduced herself to her charges. She was a lovely young woman whole spoke decent English. She had been giving guides on this island daily for the last two years. She told the group to keep their eyes open because there was not any telling what they were going to see. She went on to explain some to the points that the pamphlets had made.

"The island of Frégate is the one of the easternmost islands of Seychelles and it is considered the most remotely located. Everything on this island is built within certain codes to protect the natural environment of the island. All of the villas are made of the native mahogany and blends in with the natural surroundings. If you will follow me along the path, we will get started. Please stay on the trail, as the animals are wild and can be unpredictable. We have giant spiders, snakes, tortoises, a huge variety of birds, and even some poisonous plants on the island. We do not want any accidents out there, as we will be a considerable distance from any medical care. Follow me."

The three couples follow Tania as she described more about the island and walked along the trail. Occasionally, Brennan would stop to take pictures of interesting insects, plants, or anything with a nice view. On this island, that meant she took a picture of pretty much everything, including the perfect specimen known as her husband. A few times, he wrangled the camera away from her to get a few snap shots of her, too. The guide and the other couples also offered to take a few pictures of the newlyweds so that they could have several pictures taken together.

Tania paused in her path for a few seconds as she took her snake pole and gently moved one of the native snakes from the trail and into a nearby tree. She assured them that they were not in any danger from that snake as it was a non-aggressive and non-venomous species. Booth wasn't taking any chances and placed himself between the snake and his wife as they walked past it.

But not before Brennan got a picture of it from a distance. She wanted to document everything. Besides, Jack would kill them if they didn't feed his entomologist side, especially after shelling out so much to upgrade their accommodations.

Tania pointed out a plant as they passed in on the path. "This plant is known as the ballnut tree. It is a highly ornate evergreen tree. This is just a small tree, but they do get to be fairly large, some getting as tall as twenty meters in height."

Booth tapped Brennan on the shoulder after she took a snapshot of the floral buds of the tree, "Hey, Bones, what is twenty meters in English?"

"It's a little over sixty feet." She replied standing back up and continuing to walk down the trail.

They didn't go very far before they came across another specimen Jack was sure going to enjoy seeing a picture of. Tania pointed out an insect as they crossed its path. "This little guy, or should I say big guy, is the tenebrionid beetle. It is native to this island only, and is very sadly on the critically endangered species list."

"Bones, definitely get a picture of that. Hodgins is going to shit himself that we saw something like that!"

"Booth, are you going to tone down your language when our son is born? I do not want to expose our baby to such flagrancies during the important impressionable cognitive development stages when speech and language will be imitated and repeated. Parker says the occasional expletive that I know you don't really want him to say." She looked at him, and he knew she was right. He really should start scaling it back soon so that he wouldn't slip so easily when it was important not to.

"You're right, Bones. Sorry. Say, I wonder what Parker is doing."

"Sleeping. It's one in the morning in D.C." She said looking at her watch.

"Do you think he and Rebecca had a good time at their martial arts class without us?"

"Maybe we could call them around dinnertime, so maybe around five. He should be getting ready for school around that time."

"Yeah, I would like to talk to him. I've just gotten so used to having him around with us now; it's kinda weird to be without him, ya know."

"I miss him, too, Seeley. I miss everyone. Maybe, I'll call Angela tonight too."

"That sounds like a good idea, as long as you don't give her a play-by-play of our intimate activities."

She playfully bumped into him, and they walked for several more minutes as Tania talked. When Brennan looked up she spotted a beautiful bird in the trees. "Tania? Sorry to interrupt, but do you see that bird?" Brennan pointed her in the right direction showing her what she saw. "Could you tell us what it is?"

"Oh, yes. Good eye, Mrs. Booth. That is the frigatebird, the island is actually named specifically after this bird. They are a sea bird related closely to pelicans, but are much larger with up to a twelve foot wingspan. We have a male here. The males are distinguishable by the large red throats. They are seasonally monogamous, meaning they find a mate during the season and stay with their mate throughout the nesting period and continues until well into the care of the offspring. A couple of interesting facts are that these birds have the longest duration of parental care among birds and even though this island is named for the bird, it is not native to just this island. It can be found all throughout the tropics."

"Interesting fact…psh. Who does that remind you of, Bones?"

"Booth, stop being rude."

"Sorry." _Man, I'm whipped._

"Are you doing okay, Bones. This isn't too much is it?"

"I'm great. Thanks for asking. This was just what I needed, some fresh air and exercise. I'm glad we signed up for this hike."

"Yeah, me too."

Booth handed Brennan her bottle of water and she took a drink before he took one himself.

"Holy cow! Bones, look at that turtle! It's _huge_!"

"That's not a turtle, Booth. It's a tortoise. Tania, what kind of tortoise is that?" Brennan asked as she pointed off into the distance.

"That is a beautiful example of one of the largest species of land tortoises. It is an Aldabra giant tortoise. I cannot tell you an age, but I can tell you that he is quite large. He looks to weigh about two-hundred and fifty kilos. Mr. Booth, before you ask, that is about five-hundred and fifty pounds."

Everyone laughed and Booth rolled his eyes, "Thanks, Tania."

"No problem."

As they walked, they were coming nearer to the end of the trail as Tania talked about the agricultural products that grow in Seychelles, such as sweet potatoes, cinnamon, coconuts, and vanilla. She pointed out several palm trees producing coconuts. She instructed each couple to harvest their own coconut to take back to their villas.

They soon reached the end of their trail right back where they started from. The hike had taken a little over two hours with all of the stops and picture taking opportunities.

Booth and Brennan went to the restaurant run by the hotel after their tour. One look at the menu, and the first thing Booth noticed was, "BAT! They eat fruit bats here?"

"You don't have to get it; you can get anything you want. They have chicken, pork, and lamb in addition to the many wonderful fresh fish or seafood options. I think I would like to have the octopus with…"

"No way; you get that, and you don't get kissed by me tonight." He huffed.

"Booth. You're being ridiculous and childlike! Have you ever tried it?"

"No. Something that looks as slimy as an octopus with suction cups on its eight legs and inks when it's scared cannot taste good."

"I'm getting the octopus with the spicy coconut curry. Threaten to not kiss me all you want, but we both know that declaration won't last long if I wear that sexy little…"

"Shh, Bones! Public place. These people don't need to know our business."

"Prude. This is a honeymoon destination; they _know_ what people are doing in their hotel."

"They may _think_ they know, Bones, but let's not give them a _confirmation_ of our activities. _Please_?"

"Okay. What are you getting?"

"I don't know. Why can't they just have a good steak?" He said rubbing his hands together vigorously.

"You have steak all the time at home; pick something that you normally wouldn't eat every day. Try the bat."

"What? NO!"

"Booth, you're making a scene. Just get chicken then. I'm going to tell the guys at the Hoover what a baby you were being and that you could have tried to eat something as cool as bat meat, but you chickened out and got chicken instead."

"Hey, you got that one right, Bones." Booth said, half praising her use of _chicken out_ and half trying to change the subject.

"Of course I did. Parker taught it to me. So, don't chicken out or I will—"

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, I would. I don't make empty threats, Agent Booth."

"I know; that's the scary part. Okay, fine. I will try the bat, but if I order it, you have to try it, too."

"Only if you try the octopus as well."

"Fine, but this deal feels awfully one sided."

"Don't say that until you try them both."

**B&B**

"Wow, Bones. Who knew that I would like octopus _and_ bat meat? They really were good."

"See, I told you," she gloated. "I've been to enough places in this world to try a variety of local foods that sound awful because of the name or just the thought of what is in it. You really should be more receptive to try new things so you don't miss out on truly amazing experiences."

"Okay, yeah you're right. What do you want to do until five?"

"We could go relax in the pool."

"How about the Jacuzzi?"

"I can't get in a Jacuzzi, Booth."

"Why not?"

"Pregnant women are supposed to refrain from overheating themselves in long hot bathes as well as soaking in a hot tub. Fetuses cannot regulate their own body temperatures and they rely on the mother's body to protect from extreme hot or cold."

"Oh, good to know. I was going to draw you a warm bath later tonight. I guess I will just have to amend my plans slightly."

"We could go relax in the pool like I suggested, or maybe lounge around outside by the pool. I would find either activity very relaxing."

"Alright, let's go get changed."

**B&B**

They lounged by the pool for a little while. Brennan sat reading a journal she had brought with her, while Booth sat in the lounge chair next to her reading one of his graphic novels.

When Booth finished his comic, it was clear that Brennan was still very immersed in the article she was currently reading.

Booth stood from the chair and took a big gulp of his beer. He took a few steps away from the pool and started running full force and jumping yelling, "CANNON BALL!"

Brennan saw the movement from the corner of her eye, but she couldn't get away from the edge of the pool fast enough. His giant splash split through the air and rained down all around her, getting in their drinks and drenching their towels, his comic, and her journal.

"BOOTH! You bully. You got my journal soaked."

"Just leave it in the sun, and come join me; everything will dry."

"Yeah, but it will dry with water marks and it will be all wrinkled! I am borrowing that journal from a colleague. I'm quite certain he would like it to be returned in the condition in which I borrowed it from him."

"Sorry; I didn't know. Just let it dry in the sun, if you need to blame it on me when you return it, feel free. Come join me, Bones."

"Fine; is it cold?"

"No, just sit on the edge here, and I will help you in."

"I'm not sure I trust you not to pull me in."

"Bones, I told you before when we had that pool party that I wouldn't do that to you."

"You said you wouldn't do that to me in shallow water; you are not in shallow water."

"I'm not going to pull you in. I'm not going to splash you in the face. I'm not going to dunk you. I'm not going put you in any danger. All I want to do is help my wife into the pool right here so that she doesn't have to walk _all the way_ to the other side of the pool to get in using the stairs, because I _know_ she won't just jump in."

She walked the few steps to the edge of the pool where she then sat down on the edge. Booth swam over to her. He looked up at her for a few minutes as he rubbed her feet that dangled down into the water. "I love you, Temperance. I may pull some pranks now and then, but I would like to think that you trust me more than anything."

"I do trust you; I trust you with my life. I'm just cautious."

"I'm sorry. Have I given you a reason to doubt me in any way?"

"No. I was just being irrational. Help me in now?"

"Yeah babe, scoot to the edge and put your palms on my shoulders; I will lift you up slightly so you can slide down in here without having to jump. Watch your knees, don't accidentally kick or knee me."

She did as she was told and he helped her in where she stayed comfortable clinging to him in his arms. "I've given you reason to apologize for several times today, haven't I?"

"Yeah, but that's okay. Two of them I really deserved. I really should watch my language more, and I shouldn't have made fun of your intern. He isn't all that bad, and he can be quite helpful on cases. Well, I guess there is another apology I haven't really made yet."

"What's that?"

"For splashing you and our stuff. It wasn't very nice of me. I'm your husband now; the least I can do is respect you."

"Booth, you've shown me more respect than anyone I know."

"Not enough…"

"No, stop. No more being hard on yourself. If it helps, I forgive you. I forgive you for every little thing you have apologized for today. Problem solved."

She brought her lips closer to his, closing the gap. A shiver went down her spine as the skin touched. He felt the slight tremble and smiled against her lips. "Cold?"

"No."

"Love?"

"Yes."

"I love you, too, Temperance."

They made out in the pool for a while. They noticed the chef pull up to their villa and they greeted him as he entered the entered the villa to begin preparing their meal.

"Maybe we should get out and make some phone calls before dinner." Brennan said.

"Great. I can't wait to talk to Parker." Booth lifted her up and placed her on the side of the pool before lifting himself out of the water. Booth looked at his watch that was sitting next to his comic and noticed that it was just after five. He showed Brennan, "He won't be gone to school yet will he?"

"No, I don't think so. We are nine hours ahead, so it is just after eight there. The tardy bell doesn't ring until eight-forty five. You should call really quickly just to make sure we don't miss him."

"Okay."

He grabbed his phone from the little outdoor table; he made the call to Rebecca's phone. As it rang, he put it on speakerphone.

"_Hello_?" her voice called out after she picked up.

"Hey, Rebecca. It's me and Bones."

"_Hi Seeley. Are you on speakerphone_?_ I can hear wind and birds_?"

"Yeah."

"_Is Temperance within earshot_?"

"Yes, she's here."

"_Hi, Temperance_."

"Hello, Rebecca. We're just calling to say hi; how are things going with Parker?"

"_Great; we're doing fine_."

"How was martial arts last night?" Brennan asked.

"_Fun, but it would have been better with all of us there. You should ask Parker about it. He was really excited about some of the things he learned_."

"I bet; can we talk to him?" Booth asked.

"_Sure, Seeley. Let me get him_."

There was a slight pause on the line after they heard Rebecca call for Parker. Then they heard his footsteps pound on the floor as he approached the phone.

"_DAD_! _BONES_!"

"Hey, Bub! You being good for Mom?"

"_Yep_."

"Getting your homework done?"

"_Yep_."

"Washing behind your ears?"

"_Yep_."

"Eating your vegetables?"

"_Yep_."

"Kiss a girl yet?"

"_Yep—wait. Hey_! _Dad, I have _not_ kissed a girl, and I won't _ever_ kiss a girl_!"

"Yes, you will."

"_No, I won't_."

"Parker, ignore your father. How did your martial arts class go?" Bones asked to interrupt the argument before it got to the point where Booth would say something along the lines of _Yes, you will kiss a girl. No son of mine's going to be gay._

"_It was so fun, Bones."_ Parker started talking excitedly. "_I learned this really cool kick thingy. I think they called it the…the roundhouse kick. It was so cool. The instructor said I was a natural_!"

"Wow, that's great." Brennan said.

"Maybe you can show us when we get back." Booth added.

"_Okay, cool! We also learned the front kick and sidekick, but those weren't as cool. There was a guy there that showed us the butterfly kick. He said that it was a really advanced move. Can you do the butterfly kick, Bones_?"

"Yes I can, but not while I'm pregnant. The movements are too high impact and my center of gravity wouldn't allow me to have as much control as I would need to perform the kick."

"_That's okay. As long as you show me some time. Dad_?"

"Yeah, Park?"

"_I miss you guys. You're taking care of Bones, right Dad_?"

"We miss you too, buddy."

"Your dad is taking wonderful care of me." Brennan added.

"_Hey, mom's telling me we need to get going so that I'm not late. I love you guys. Come home soon_."

"Okay, we love you too." Booth said.

"Bye, Parker." Brennan said.

"_Bye_." Parker said before he hung the phone up.

"Well, that was over too quick." Booth said as he looked into Brennan's eyes.

"I concur." She said, starting to get a little moisture in her eyes. "I like it here, but I'm glad we'll be going back soon."

"Yeah, tomorrow is our last day and night here at the villa before we go enjoy Mahé before our flight back. We will be home soon. Why don't you try to call Angela right now? I'm going to go shower and get changed."

"Okay."

Booth entered their villa, heading for the bedroom to get changed.

He pulled off his trunks and hung them up before taking a quick shower and drying off before putting on a pair of loud surf shorts and a white button down shirt that he left open. He finished up a little earlier than Brennan did since she called Angela before coming inside so he headed out to the kitchen to see what was being made for them tonight. He didn't see the chef anywhere, but there was a note on the counter.

_Mr. and Mrs. Booth,_

_Dinner will be served on the beach tonight. Please arrive promptly at seven for the sunset. We will be having a seafood spread with fresh grilled shrimp and grilled vegetables. Dinner will be served with a freshly brewed Seybrew German lager and a nice sparkling cider for the lady._

_See you soon,_

_Chef Sadsitha_

He looked at his watch. They had some time to kill, and Brennan wasn't done cleaning up yet. He pulled out his laptop to check his email, but before he got it started up, Brennan's phone rang. He walked over to where Brennan had left it on the table next to the couch. He saw that the caller ID indicating it was Angela and he answered it.

"Hello, you've reached Mrs. Booth's phone; this is Mr. Booth speaking. How may I help you?"

"_Real cute, Booth. I bet you can't say _Mrs. Booth _enough_."

"Nope, can't get enough of it. Can't get enough of _her_. God, I love her Ange!"

"_So, you're having fun, huh_?"

"Yes. So much fun. This place is wonderful. I cannot thank you guys enough for the overly generous upgrade to the Presidential villas."

"_No need. You're family. Hey, is Bren around_?"

"No, she's in the shower. Didn't you just talk to her?"

"_No. I couldn't get to the phone fast enough_."

"Oh. She just wanted to call and talk. She probably wanted to make sure everything was going okay at the lab."

"_Tell her we mixed up all of her bones in the storage bins in Limbo and blew up the Ookie room_."

"So, everything's fine?"

"_Boring without you two, but yes, fine_."

"I'll let her know."

"_How is she doing? Has she felt the baby move yet_?"

"As far as I know, she hasn't felt him move yet. She's doing great aside from some extreme motion sickness on the planes. When we go on our babymoon to L.A. next month we will not be flying."

"_It was bad, huh_?"

"Yeah. The worst. She actually got so bad that she had to lay down in the flight attendant's little room with the cots. I'm dreading the ride home for her. The ride from this island to the main island will be bad enough. They used this little shoebox sized plane to get us here, and even I was getting sick on that thing. After we ride that over to the main island we will spend a little bit of time there before our seventeen hour flight back home."

"_Wow, sorry about that. It really sounds miserable. I bet your few days of island paradise is worth it though, right_?"

"I don't know. Nothing is worth her health, and as far as I'm concerned no matter where we are, as long as we are together, we are in paradise."

"_Seeley Booth, there needs to be more men like you in this world_."

**B&B**

When Brennan walked out into the living area of the villa, she looked around confused to not see the chef in the kitchen making dinner.

"Booth? Where's the chef?"

"Oh, he left us a note to meet him down on the beach for dinner at seven."

"That sounds nice."

"Angela called while you were in the shower."

"She did?"

"Yeah. We talked for a while. I asked her how things were going at the lab, and she said everything was fine."

"Should I call her back?" Brennan asked as she walked over to Booth, who was sitting on the couch. He sat up to where she could sit next to him.

"She said you didn't have to unless you really wanted to."

"Okay, well then, I will wait until we are getting ready to leave Seychelles."

"She sends her love, and said to enjoy the rest of our time alone."

She sat next to him and leaned into his side as he brought his arm around her. She sighed deeply.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked her.

"No, not really. I just wanted to talk to Angela. Maybe I will send her an email later. I'm sure that she and Jack will love to see some of the pictures we took this morning."

"That sounds like a good idea." He leaned over to kiss her cheek since he couldn't really reach her lips from his angle.

After the short little peck on the cheek, she turned her head and body towards Booth. She leaned in closer to smell him. He was a little puzzled by the way she seemed to be studying him and sniffing at him.

"Cheese."

"Cheese?"

"You ate cheese."

"Yes, I ate some cheese from the fridge. How did you know? That was twenty minutes ago!"

"Booth, my olfactory senses are through the roof right now. You would be surprised at some of the lingering smells that I have been experiencing lately. There are some scents that seem to be extremely pleasing to me as well as some that make me want to vomit."

"Like what?"

"Like…well, your scent has always been pleasing and comforting, so that doesn't count, but the smell of most foods are extremely pleasing as well as leather and cinnamon."

"What about scents that make you sick?"

"Jasmine," she said vehemently. "I used to love that scent, but lately it makes me nauseous. Another one is hot dogs. I started making a hot dog for Parker last week and he had to finish making it because I couldn't be in the same room with it."

"That's okay. It won't kill him to do some things for himself. Rebecca has somewhat always babied him like that. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it is time for him to realize people cannot wait on him hand-and-foot for the rest of his life."

"You're right, but I enjoy doing little things like that for him."

"That is yet another reason you're going to be a great mother; because you already are, Bones."

"Thanks; it's almost seven. Do you think we should head out there?"

"Yep, let's go." He helped her stand and they started their walk down the trail from the villa to the beach.

**B&B**

They made the short trek down to the beach. It was already starting to get a little dark as the sun was getting ready to disappear beyond the horizon when they arrived down at the beach.

The chef had put together a romantic setting for their dinner. He stood at the grill preparing their food as they walked up. He had apparently hauled a small table and chairs down to the beach. He draped the table with the same kind of wispy sheer white fabric that makes up the canopy and drapery in the villa. There were several candles set out and lit all around the table in the sand. There were a few on the table as well. The colors from the sunset illuminated the beach and the fabric of the tablecloth as the soft light from the candles danced in the slight breeze. Near some of the candles in the sand, the chef had spread a blanket and made a little campfire.

Everything smelled wonderful; the chef came over to the table and gestured for them to have a seat. Booth pulled Brennan's chair out for her, which she rolled her eyes at, and then accepted the gesture. He scooted her closer before sitting in his own chair that he pulled a little closer to Brennan's at the little round table. The chef popped the top off Booth's beer, and poured a glass of sparkling cider for Brennan. They thanked him before he went back to finish cooking their food.

They sat watching the sunset together and enjoying the comfortable silence between the two of them. It wasn't long before the chef was done preparing the food. He came over and served their plates before lighting the two tall candles for a little bit more light since the sun had gone down.

* * *

**Review please.**

**I am going to try to wrap up the honeymoon in the next chapter so they can return to the real world.**

**Shameless self plug alert!**

**If you haven't read my"Bailed Out" series, it's worth the laugh. They are just short little stories where Booth and Brennan get arrested, and each one gives a little insight into how the people around them react to the news and the reason for their arrest. **

**Also if you enjoy stories with a dark angsty Brennan you might enjoy "Tangible Pain". Summary: How is Brennan handling Booth blowing her off for Hannah? When Angela discovers the truth she seeks the help of Booth, only to find out he knew about it and didn't do anything. Will guilt be enough for Booth to finally be able to get Brennan the help she needs? Hannah is present, but ends with B&B.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	36. Gut Feelings

**I was going to wait until tomorrow morning to post this chapter, but then I looked at the date that I last updated, and I felt bad for not getting this out sooner. I've been sick and I broke my toe last week. So, I've been on cold meds and pain killers. I highly doubt you would have appreciated the kind of writing that would have produced. **

**R&R**

* * *

Brennan woke up to a sound she couldn't quite identify, but one thing she knew for sure was that she woke up alone in the bed. She frowned and pulled Booth's pillow closer to her to savior the lingering scent of her husband. She tried to shut her eyes and ignore her urge to get up to use the bathroom once she realized that it was still not quite light outside. She heard the noise again. It sounded like a cross between a grunt and a heavily released breath. Then, she realized that it was coming from the foot of the bed.

Slightly irritated at being woken up, she whipped the covers off her and crawled to the end of the bed to investigate the noise. She peered down to the floor to see her husband doing a round of push-ups. He didn't seem to notice that she was awake and watching him. She took notice to the fact that he was dressed only in a pair of jogging shorts, and took the advantage to study him closely as he moved.

He methodically did push-up after push-up with his muscles flexing and contracting under his toned skin. She made herself more comfortable by laying on her side facing him and watching as his muscles danced beneath his skin. She could see the slight glisten of his skin from the light perspiration forming. She could feel herself become aroused just by watching him move and hearing his slight grunts almost made her pounce on him right then and there. She didn't, though, mainly because she rarely got the opportunity to observe him in this way. On mornings where he worked out, he usually went to the gym at the Hoover because of the fact that their neighborhood wasn't good for running. Lately, he had not been going as much anyway since they would wake up with other _physical activities_ in mind.

He kept count on each exhale in a barely audible breath. Once she thought she heard him say one-hundred, he sat up and was about to turn himself around to start sit-ups when he noticed he had an audience. He noticed her dark eyes boring into him and the slight upturn or her lips. He started doing sit-ups before speaking to her.

"Like what you see?" He asked.

"I have become quite aroused watching you, yes. I very much like what I see. Have you been up long?"

"Uh, yeah. Quite awhile, actually. I couldn't really sleep. I don't know, a little bit of nervous energy, I guess. I don't know why. I can't explain it. I have already gone for a run this morning, and I just felt like I needed to get rid of some more of this nervous energy before I got in the shower so I decided some pushups and sit-ups wouldn't hurt me."

"Maybe, I didn't sufficiently wear you out enough on the beach last night or when we got back to the villa. I can change that right now if you would like." She said with a sultry tone and slightly wicked smile.

He stopped his sit-ups for the moment to look at her to make sure she didn't take this the wrong way, "As much as I would like that, I—something doesn't feel right. Something, I can't explain."

Her smile faded, "One of your gut feelings?"

"Maybe. I don't know." He shrugged.

"What brought this on?"

"I told you; I don't know, Bones. Alright?" he said a little more harshly than he intended. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap. Bones, I honestly don't know." He shrugged again.

Brennan didn't know what to say or do. He got up and went in the bathroom. As he walked in, he told her he was going to shave and shower and then they would call the chef for breakfast.

Clearly, he was restless and something was bothering him. The look in his eyes after he realized he snapped at her told her that he honestly didn't know what was wrong, and maybe that made him more nervous.

"Seeley," she said as she stood in the doorway of the bathroom watching him bring a hot towel to his face and then lather up. He pulled out his set of straight blades. "May I?" She asked as she gestured to his blade.

He handed it to her and gave her a slight nod and smile.

She brought the blade to his skin and drew the smooth stoke removing the cream and leaving behind fresh smooth skin. Another stroke, and then another. She ran her fingers briefly across the smooth trail of skin that had thus far been exposed to inspect her work before continuing with more strokes.

"I was kind of looking forward to paying you back for yesterday morning. I wanted to wake you up and make love to you, and to show you how much you mean to me." She said as she paused to look in his eyes as she spoke. Then she returned to shaving him.

He brought one of his strong hands and halted her once more so he could speak without getting his throat sliced open. "Bones, what you're doing right now, it isn't sexual, but it's making love. It's intimate; it's sensual. You _are_ making love to me right now."

She swallowed; she wasn't expecting him to say anything like that. She had always considered the sexual aspect of making love; she had never really considered that it could present itself in other ways. Once again, she didn't know how to respond. She could kiss him, but he still had cream up around his lips. A hug wouldn't be enough. Just standing there looking like a lost intern awaiting instruction wouldn't do either. "I love you." She said. It was the only thing she could think of, but it was the exact right thing to say.

Her response seemed satisfactory to him if she was judging by the look on his face, and before she resumed her strokes on his neck he said, "I love you, too," as he rested a hand on the side of her belly and stroked one of his fingers lightly over the skin not quite covered by her tank top.

She made quick work of the rest of his face and neck. She took the warm towel and wiped the excess cream off of him before bringing her lips to his jaw line and then to his lips. They broke the kiss and lingered in each others' arms for a few more moments. "Are you going to shower now?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm kinda gross right now."

She turned the water on for him before she sat down to finally relieve herself. She had completely forgotten that she had yet to use the bathroom after waking up. "Do you still feel weird?"

"Yeah, that hasn't really gone away." He replied as he stripped down for the shower.

"I wish I knew how to help."

"You already are, Bones. Just by being here, and asking me. It helps to know that you care how I feel."

"Well, did you have a dream or an unsettling nightmare? Sometimes I still have nightmares about being buried alive. I can't help but feel a slight bit of paranoia after one of those."

"I don't think I did, and I'm not paranoid, Bones." He said, getting into the shower.

She sat on the counter to keep him company. She showered the night before so she really didn't need a shower right now, and she knew that he likely needed a little breathing room right now.

"I didn't say you were. I said that I sometimes feel that way. Booth, I'm just trying to help."

"I know. I said you were helping just by being concerned enough to ask, but I'm not sure there's really anything we can discuss that can explain the way I feel."

"Well, what does it feel like?"

"I don't know; just like something isn't right. Like something bad is going to happen. Anxious, I guess. Maybe a slight _hint_ of paranoia, now that you have me thinking about that, but I'm not paranoid. Hodgins would be classified as paranoid."

"What does Hodgins have to do with this?"

"He doesn't. Just forget I mentioned him."

"No, I'm curious. Why would you classify him as paranoid?"

"Because Hodgins is a grade A shifty-eyed conspiracy theorist."

"Oh," she laughed. "Well, does it feel health related or is it just a feeling? Because if your brain tumor is back maybe you would feel different or start hallucinating again. Are you having any hallucinations?"

"No, I don't think it has anything to do with any of that. It's just a feeling."

He shut the water off. "Bones?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you call the chef and let him know we're almost ready for breakfast."

"Sure. Maybe feeding you would help with some of the anxiety."

"Maybe."

**B&B**

After breakfast, they decided to go snorkeling. They figured they wouldn't even have to leave their immediate beach for that. There was plenty of coral and other sea creatures for them to see not too far out into the water. They figured that getting on a boat to go out further might cause some nausea for Brennan. They took along an underwater camera and took many pictures of the beautiful life just below the surface of the water. As they were getting ready to swim back to the sand, Booth looked behind his wife and noticed something that made his whole face light up.

She noticed the change in his expression, and since he wasn't facing the shore, she knew it had to be something in the water that caught his attention. She turned to see what he saw.

There was a group of dolphins, not too far away, swimming towards them. She let out a small gasp and he brought her into his arms and wrapped them around her.

He whispered in her ear, "Bones, I know you don't believe in God or fate or anything like that, but this—this is a message. I'm going to choose to think that this is a gift from your mother to congratulate us."

He didn't know how she would react to his statement. He expected some kind of response. He never would have guessed that she would just stay in his arms and not say anything. She seemed to accept his thought, or at least he figured she wanted to believe that it was true. He kissed her temple as dolphins swam closer still.

Three of the dolphins broke away from the big group and swam right up to the couple, brushing against them gently. A couple of times they would nudge one of the two people in the water.

Booth let Brennan out of his arms so she could more freely interact with the dolphins.

"Is it possible that your feeling was a good one rather than one of doom?" She asked.

"I don't know, but this is pretty incredible. Look at that; they like you, Bones."

"Research shows that dolphins pay special attention to pregnant women. It is believed that their form of communication through high frequency whistles and a broadband burst of clicks and their use of echolocation help them to identify that a woman is pregnant."

One of the small dolphins leapt out of the water and splashed the partners as it landed back in the water. Another small dolphin let out a series of amusing whistles and clicks at the couple as they laughed.

"Bones! That dolphin is laughing at us!"

"Dolphins don't laugh, Booth."

"Well, clearly that one thought it was funny his buddy splashed us."

She ran a hand over the smooth slippery skin of the one that turned upside down next to her as if it wanted her to rub its tummy. With the dolphin still turned over, she asked Booth to come rub the tummy, and she pointed to the animals' genital area.

"Do you see the two protrusions on each side of the genital slit?"

"Bones! Stop peeking at her _stuff_!"

"Relax, Booth. I'm merely pointing out that her mammary glands are engorged. It means she is still nursing. It's possible that these other two dolphins are her calves. They are much smaller in size. It makes sense, and those other dolphins over there likely belong to their familial group as they do tend to travel in pods."

The dolphin rolled back over and swam around a little more. The three dolphins circled the couple and brushed up against them a few more times before rejoining their pod and swimming away.

When Booth looked over to his wife watching them swim away, he saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes. She could feel his gaze on her, and she glanced over to him smiling.

"That was the best gift I've ever received." Brennan said, but then added, "Other than this one," as she took his hands and placed them on either side of her tummy.

He kissed her and then guided her back to the shore. "I took some pictures for you. I figured you might want to remember an experience like that."

"Trust me; I'm not likely to ever forget, but thanks," she said as she threaded her fingers with his and they made the walk back to the villa.

**B&B**

The rest of the day went by quickly as they enjoyed the last day at their villa.

They spent a fair amount of time by the pool. They ended up making love in the pool and then they got out so they wouldn't drown each other from hanging on to each other in exhaustion; they laid on one of the lounge chairs together.

After a little breather, Booth got bold and started another go round on the lounge chair. Unfortunately, those chairs were not made for that kind of force and weight being placed on them. It broke and sent them tumbling in a heap the short distance to the ground.

Booth, being how he is, practically smothered Brennan making sure she was fine and not hurt. She joked with him that maybe his feeling was about that. He brushed it off. Nothing completely terrible had happened and the day was coming to an end, so he disregarded his earlier feelings.

Their dolphin experience was incredible, and while the chair breaking startled them both, he didn't feel like either of those things were worthy of a gut feeling. Maybe it really was nothing.

Just before bedtime, Brennan had pointed out a giant spider in the corner of the bedroom.

Booth flipped out like a little girl. Brennan had no qualms pointing that out to him either. She was just going to take a picture of it for Hodgins to see later, and then leave the spider alone. However, Booth insisted that he was not sleeping in that room until it was dead. She tried to reason with him that there were likely more that they were unable to see now and that it wasn't bothering them.

Brennan told him that she was not going to kill the spider and that he had two options. He could kill the spider himself and come to bed or he could sleep on the couch.

He chose to just quickly kill it and went to bed telling Brennan that she needed to keep her mouth shut about him being afraid of the giant spider or he would keep _junior_ under lockdown.

About twenty minutes after their latest round of hot and sweaty island sex, Booth's phone rang. It was almost eleven-thirty at night, and he wondered who would be calling them. He looked to see that it was Rebecca. She wouldn't be calling if it weren't an emergency, and his stomach practically came up his throat when he answered the phone.

The bad feeling had been real and turned out to be _more than nothing_.

"Hello?" He mumbled sleepily into the phone.

"_Seeley_?" Rebecca's voice came over the line.

"Yeah, I'm here. Is something wrong?"

"_I'm sorry to bother you, but yes, something is wrong_." Her voice was quiet and hoarse, and he could tell it was probably from crying.

"What happened?"

"_There was a shooting_."

"Where?" He shut his eyes dreading the answer.

"_It was at Parker's school. One of the kids_…"

His heart started racing and Brennan noticed that his breathing had increased significantly and tears were threatening his eyes as his voice broke, "What? Is Parker…"

"_He's fine. I probably should have said that sooner. Parker is fine. He's shaken up quite a bit though_."

"Oh, thank God. Well, what happened?" Seeing the look Brennan was giving him, he put the phone on speaker so that she could listen. He wasn't sure he would be able find the words to tell her later.

"_One of the kids brought a gun to school. They don't really know much about why the kid did it yet, but they know that the kid had a list of seventeen students' names in his pocket. He shot thirteen kids on that list, Seeley. Seven of them died, and three others are listed as critical._" She broke down.

"Shh, Rebecca. It's over. Parker's safe."

"_He was on the list, Seeley. That _kid_ had _our_ son on his _death list," she said through her sobs.

"What?"

"_Our son was on the list. Parker could have been next. He could have been killed had they not detained the shooter_."

Booth couldn't speak. Why was his son on the list? Clearly, the kid with the gun had some sort of problem with the kids on the list. Apparently, a big enough problem that he felt he needed to kill them. What did his son do that put him on the list?

"Where's Parker?" Brennan asked, seeing that Booth was still struggling with his thoughts.

"_Well, obviously they sent everyone home. Since Parker's name was on the list, we had to stay and talk to the police before we left, but they really didn't ask him much. I don't think they wanted to push him too much. They said they would call us back in later. He's in his room now. He's locked himself in his closet_."

"He hasn't done that in awhile." Booth said, placing his arm over his eyes.

"He probably feels safe there." Brennan added.

"_Yeah, that's what I figured. I just don't know what to do_." Rebecca replied.

Booth sighed, "Don't push him. The cops were right in not asking too much of him. If he doesn't feel safe to come out, don't force him. I can call Sweets if you think he needs some help."

"_Honestly, I think he does, but I want you to be here for that. He's been through so much. You guys are coming back tomorrow, right_."

"Well, our plane leaves here tomorrow night around seven, and then it's a seventeen hour flight. So, it won't really be tomorrow when we get back. Do you think he can wait that long?"

"_I don't know_." … "_Seeley, these kids are in fourth grade; Parker just turned ten, he should not have to deal with this horrible world like this yet_." She was sobbing again.

"I know. Here's what we're going to do." He looked at Brennan to make sure she heard him. "I'm going to have Bones call Angela to see if she and Jack will go stay with you guys until we get back. I would suggest that you go stay with them, but I don't know if you'll be able to get Parker out of his closet."

Brennan looked at Booth nodding her head; she grabbed her phone off the nightstand, and walked into the other room to make the call.

"_I left him some food right by the door and told him he could get it when he wants it. He said okay, and then I called you. I don't know if he plans on staying in there or not, but I did hear him playing a game on his PSP_."

"Good, that means he didn't just completely shut down. Rebecca, I'm sorry…"

"_For what? You didn't give the kid a gun._"

"No, but if we were there we could help. I'm sorry we aren't there."

"_Don't be. This likely would have happened if you had been here. You both deserved the time away together. I hope you can enjoy what's left of it. I know it will be hard to now, but just know that Parker is safe_."

"I would ask to talk to him, but I'm not sure what I could say to get him out of the closet. I think he may just need some time to himself."

"_Okay, well I will tell him that I talked to you and that you will be home soon_."

"Tell him I love him, and Bones does, too."

"_I will. Bye_."

"Goodbye, Rebecca."

Booth sat up and dropped the phone next to him on the bed as the calm left his body and sobs took over. His son could have been killed today. Booth could hear Bones talking in the other room. He heard her thank Angela and then shut her phone.

"Booth?" She said as she crawled across the bed over to where he sat holding him knees to his chest with his face buried in his arms. Sobs were wracking his body. She held him the best she could as she spoke. "Jack heard about the shooting on the TV and sent his personal jet to come pick us up from Mahé around ten tomorrow morning. Angela said that he also arranged for a helicopter to fly us off this island in the morning. Apparently, _someone_ told Angela about my nausea on the flights here, and then she told Jack."

"I wonder who that could have been." He said trying to look innocent.

She rolled her eyes. "She says he thinks my nausea won't be as bad on a helicopter. They were going to send us on the helicopter and jet anyway; they just set it in motion to happen sooner."

"Leave it to Hodgins."

"Maybe you should call Rebecca back real quick to let her know to expect us a little early. Also, tell her that Jack and Angela will be there soon. Angela was finishing a reconstruction when I called, but she said that she should be able to leave the lab soon.

After calling Rebecca back, Booth came back into the bedroom and lay by his wife.

"You know, we're going to owe Hodgins every cent we've ever earned?"

"You know how Jack is. He doesn't even really want the money he has, and he isn't going to miss anything he spends on the people he cares about. You know that."

"I know. I just—I don't know. I'm not used to people caring about me enough to spend ungodly amounts of money on me."

"Then remind me not to tell you how much that ring on your finger cost."

"Bones!"

"Sleep, Booth. Let's get some Sleep."

"How much? I won't freak out. I promise."

"I'm not sure I believe that. You might act like you did when you saw that spider." She laughed.

"You," he said as he tapped her nose, "you are mean to me."

"I'm not anymore mean to you than you are to me. Go to sleep."

Silence.

"Bones?"

"Hmm?"

"I can't sleep."

"Me either. _You_ keep moving."

"I love you, Bones."

"I love you back."

"I love you more."

"Not possible."

"Uh huh."

"Go to sleep, Booth."

"I can't. I told you I had a bad feeling."

"I know. There's nothing we can do right now. Sleep." She ordered.

Silence.

"Seriously, how much did it cost?"

* * *

**This brings an end to their paradise and throttles them back to the reality and drama of their lives. **

**Review. **

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	37. Unofficial Business

**Five weeks sans new episodes of Bones is going to kill me. Plus side=Christmas break is coming up. Thursday is my last day of school and then I will have a lot more free time to lose myself in some of the wonderful stories on this site as well as writing updates for this one, and few of my others. Two weeks for Christmas break is not enough. We go back to school the 3rd. Not sure I will be entirely sober by then. Will probably still have the remnants of one helluva hangover for sure.  


* * *

**

The couple woke up to their alarm going off. Both of them instantly groaned at the offensive noise that they had been not had to hear over the past several days. The break from a strict morning schedule was a nice reprieve from the monotonous daily routine that they had previously, but the offending sound indicated the return to their lives.

Now, though, they had to wake up to reassemble their morning routine in order to get everything packed and ready to go so they could arrive at the airport in Mahé on time.

After both taking individual showers and dressing comfortably for the trip, they worked together to make sure they had all of their possessions properly packed away and ready to go. Booth checked the other two villas to make sure that none of their articles of clothing were left behind, as they did spend a little bit of time over the past several days christening some rooms in the other villas as well as the main one they stayed in.

After Booth gave the affirmative that everything was ready he shouldered all of the bags with straps and let Bones pull the suit cases that were on wheels, though if he had a free hand and if the walk up the path to where the shuttle was waiting for them wasn't so long, he would have insisted on leaving them and coming back for them, himself. The driver of the shuttle exited the vehicle as they approached take the luggage from Brennan, and to help Booth load them into the back.

They made the bumpy ride to where the helicopter pad was. Upon arrival, they noticed that the helicopter was already waiting for them.

While the ride was noisy, Jack had been right about it being smoother than the tin can of an airplane they had flown to Frégate on. The wide windows also allowed for a breath taking panoramic view of the island and the ocean. From the air, Brennan took some amazing pictures, and was pleased that she had not experienced any nausea as of yet. The view allowed them to see other islands that spanned the area as well as some ocean wild life that was viewable from the air. They could see dolphins and even some whales. The water was a crystal clear cerulean blue that allowed for a clear view in the shallows of the reef and exotic schools of fish.

Once they passed over some deeper waters, the pilot of the aircraft brought them higher in the air. He explained to them that he mainly did island air tours around here, but he was contacted by a very generous man with an offer he couldn't refuse to give them a ride back to the main island. He figured he could at least let his passengers enjoy the view as well so that the man who had called could get his money's worth. He asked if they would like to take a ride around Mahé before they landed in Victoria. They replied that they would, and he obliged. Brennan took more breathtaking aerial views of the island, its national park, and its cities. Most of the pictures looked like they could have come straight out of a brochure.

He finally dropped them off at a helipad near the beach. He bid them goodbye and best wishes in his thick Seychellois Creole accent as he kissed each of Brennan's cheeks. Booth raised his eyebrows, but said nothing as he figured it was just a polite custom, and he shook the man's hand and thanked him for the ride and tour.

They still had some time before they needed to be at their terminal to board Hodgins' jet. There was a beach and a boardwalk nearby, so they walked the short distance down to some shops to search for souvenirs. They knew they at least needed to get something for Parker and something to commemorate the trip for themselves. Then they figured they had better get Jack and Angela something considering their overwhelming generosity in both upgrading their villa and in arranging the travel home to better accommodate their needs. After that, they bought a few more knick-knacks and Booth bought a cute little stuffed dolphin for Bones. Finally, they thought they had enough stuff to bring back with them. They had a little something for everyone, and they even had a few shells, silver dollars, and a dried up starfish from the beach near their villa.

Once they had everything packed away nicely, they headed to the airport just a few blocks away. One of the locals offered to help them with their stuff as they were walking down the street. They made it to the airport with almost an hour to spare. Brennan booted up her laptop to send a quick email to let everyone know that they were getting ready to board the plane. She figured they wouldn't like to receive a call in the middle of the night.

Four hours later found them mid-air flying above the ocean at a high speed that would get them home faster than flying commercial. When they boarded the plane, neither one of them could believe the sight they were greeted with. The interior looked nothing like a plane at all; it was more like a narrow luxury hotel suite. There was a couch and flat screen TV in one area, and in another area that looked like a little kitchen/mini-bar. There were two doors near the back. One, they discovered, led to a spacious bathroom; the other led to a bedroom. It wasn't huge, and neither was the bed. They both had fleeting thoughts of joining the mile high club, but figured that could wait until a little later in the flight.

Right now, they were both a little tired from tossing and turning most of the night followed by an early morning wake-up and a walk along the pier. They just decided to relax for the time being. They had a long flight ahead of them, and they knew that when they reached D.C. it would be like starting their day all over again because of the time change.

For the first few hours, they laid together on the luxurious couch and watched a few movies. A little into the second movie Brennan started becoming uncomfortable and restless. They both thought, _at least restlessness is better than being nauseous with motion sickness._

But even though Booth was glad she wasn't sick, he still needed to make sure she was doing alright.

"Hey, Bones. You're moving around a lot. You okay?"

"Yes. I just need to go to the bathroom. I like this movie so far, and I didn't want to miss anything."

"Jeez, Bones. All you had to do was say something. I can pause the movie, you know. This is a long flight; there is no need for you to be uncomfortable. Go," he said as he gently helped to push her up off him. He thought to himself, _we've been through this before. Alss she has to do is say something!_

"Okay. I'll be right back."

He waited for her to come back before resuming the movie. They continued watching the movie, and when they neared the end, Booth noticed Bones was crying. He ran his hands up and down her arms. He didn't say anything because he knew that if he did, she would get insecure about her tears and see it as a weakness.

The silent comfort was exactly what she needed, and she was grateful that he knew her well enough to know exactly what she needed.

When she regained enough of her composure back to keep her voice from wavering, she spoke, "When Angela recommended this movie she never told me it was sad."

"You've never seen _A Walk to Remember_?" He asked, figuring she hadn't, but didn't want to make assumptions.

"No. I remember Angela saying something about it being really good awhile back, but never got the chance to see it. When I saw it on the DVD shelf, I figured I would see what she was talking about. It was good, but I didn't think it would be so sad. They were so happy together. I should have realized something was up when she told that boy not to fall in love with her."

He comforted her for a little bit longer before he felt her breathing slow down and even out.

He didn't want to wake her up, but he didn't want her to sleep all cramped up on the couch either.

"Bones, baby."

She groaned and furrowed her brow in irritation.

"Bones." He kissed her temple and then whispered into her ear, "Come on, let's go to bed."

"Are you trying to seduce me on a plane?" She mumbled.

Booth laughed. "Do you want me to?"

"I wouldn't complain."

"Then, sure." He nibbled on her ear. "I'm seducing you on a plane, but it's not happening on the couch when there is a perfectly good bed in that room with a lock on it. The last thing we need is for one of Hodgins' minions to walk in on us. How do we know that Angela didn't commandeer them and now they are spying on us for her?"

"Booth!" She laughed and playfully slapped his chest. "Hodgins doesn't have minions, and while I know that Angela is going to be ripping at the seams—"

"Bursting at the seams." He quickly corrected.

"Right. While she will be bursting at the seams to hear about our time together, I don't think she would actually set anyone up to spy on us."

"See, you don't _think_ she would. That's not the same as _knowing_ she won't."

Regardless of his fears, he joined her in the small bedroom. While the bed wasn't very big, there was ample room for two people to share, especially when said people were going to try to take up as little room as possible by being as physically close as the laws of physics would allow. Forget the laws of physics; Mr. and Mrs. Brennan obliterated the laws of physics.

After fulfilling what was a fantasy for both of them, they quickly dressed before they fell asleep. They slept for the rest of the way to the states, knowing that when they arrived the day would just be starting there even though they had already been up for quite some time.

**B&B**

Upon arrival at a private terminal at Dulles International Airport, Booth got a cart to put all of their luggage on. While he was doing that Brennan made a call to see if Rebecca had arrived to pick them up yet. The phone almost immediately went to voicemail, but Brennan received a text a minute later telling from Rebecca tell her that she had an emergency meeting with a client, but Angela would be picking them up instead. So Brennan called her friend to find out that she was on her way, but was stuck in some rush hour morning traffic. If she had received the call from Rebecca sooner, then she would have already been waiting for the couple as they arrived. Brennan was assured that it wouldn't take her more than fifteen minutes to arrive.

When Angela finally arrived, she helped Booth load their luggage, and chastised Brennan for trying to lift something that was too heavy. Brennan rolled her eyes and got into the van. She figured Booth would want to stretch his long legs out in the front seat so she sat in the back. She was surprised when the door just across from her opened and he got in the back instead of sitting up front with Angela.

"Don't look so surprised, Bones. I want to sit by my wife." He leaned over and whispered; "Besides it will keep Angela from looking directly at me as she pries into our personal life. You know she's going to ask questions."

"Yes."

Angela opened the door to the driver's seat and feigned hurt when she noticed that no one was up from with her.

"Oh, I see how it is. You're married now so you're going to sit next to each other and leave poor old me to sit up here all by myself. You're probably back there groping each other as we speak, while I'm sitting up here, all alone, driving you home."

_Shit! Can she see what I was doing?_ Booth removed his hand that was previously resting on his wife's thigh. Apparently over the last minute or so, it had moved, without his permission, up her inner thigh.

"Just take us home Ange." Booth said curtly.

Angela could see his face in the rearview mirror and they locked eyes for a second. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh my God! You were, weren't you? You were groping Bren in my car!" She said with a saucy grin.

Booth exhaled a big breath of air and rolled his eyes. "What I do with my wife isn't any of your business."

"Okay, what about if I ask your wife what she does with you?" Angela countered.

"What do you want to know, Angela?" Bones played along with Angela, knowing it would irritate Booth.

"Bones! Don't give her free reign to ask what she wants!"

"Booth, don't worry." She then ignored his eye roll and leaned in to whisper, "I haven't forgotten; what's between us is ours."

"Good." He kissed her, and when Angela noticed the sudden silence, she looked back up to the rearview mirror to confirm her suspicions with a grin.

Booth broke off the kiss before it got too inappropriate.

"So, if Rebecca is in an emergency meeting, and you're picking us up, who's with Parker. I know his school hasn't reopened yet." Booth asked.

"Jack is with him at your apartment. Rebecca called as we were on our way to work, so we just went by your house before she left. Jack couldn't get him out of the closet to come with us, so he stayed."

Brennan looked at Booth. This was not a good sign. "Did he know you guys were going to pick us up?" Brennan asked.

"Yes." Angela replied sadly. "Booth, you know I wouldn't say this if I didn't really care, and I don't want you to think I'm overstepping, but I think he—"

"He needs to see Sweets or some other child specialist. I know. Thanks, Ange. We should have set him up with someone after the abuse, but we just wanted him to feel normal. Bones and I have been forced into therapy, and neither of us is too fond of it. We just didn't want to inflict that upon him. I think that he may actually benefit from seeing someone now." Booth said sadly.

"Booth, would it be okay if we stopped by the Hoover before we go home?" Brennan asked. "I know you want to see Parker, and relax after all that traveling, I do too, but I want to know more about this kid that shot out the school that we cannot find out from the media."

"Sure." He didn't bother to correct her misuse of _shot up_ and he was curious to know as well. "Ange, take us to the Hoover. We aren't too far away from it anyway."

"No problem, as long as we don't take too long. I don't want Parker to get worried that something happened."

**B&B**

Booth, Brennan and Angela all slipped into the Hoover. The only people that knew they were there were the guards at the security checkpoint where Brennan and Angela had to get visitors' passes. It was easy to get to Booth's office without being noticed by someone, as most people were in morning meetings or briefings. They still had the day off, since it was Friday, and they weren't really supposed to be back until tomorrow. They tried to avoid people so that they wouldn't be roped into doing something.

Booth booted up his computer and tried to access some files on the network regarding the case of the kid shooter and the victims. When asked for his password for security clearance, he was denied access. He was shocked. Was his security clearance not high enough to access such a simple case? It was probably under a heavier lock and key due to the fact that the shooter was a minor. "I don't have a high enough security clearance for to access anything. I could call Charlie, but he would ask why we're here when we're supposed to not be here. Besides, as SAC, I have a higher security clearance than he does. This doesn't make any sense."

"Let me try." Brennan said entering her password. Just as she gained access, Cullen opened the door.

"Aha! Booth, my boy, I knew the second you guys got back that you would be in here trying to find out as much as you could." He saw Brennan sitting at the computer instead of his agent. He walked over and turned off the computer monitor.

"Sir," Booth said, as he stood up straighter. "How—"

"How did I know you were here? Well, let's see. You had to go through security clearance to get here. I notified them to tell me if you showed up. Also, anytime one of these computers is turned on, our tech guys know. They also alerted me to you presence. I took the liberty of, _temporarily_, suspending your security clearance, Agent Booth. I didn't figure I would have to do the same to your wife's as well. How much did you see?"

"Nothing, sir, we just gained access when you entered the office." Booth replied.

"Doctor Booth, if you would come around to the other side of the desk and have a seat with Agent Booth and Mrs. Hodgins, I will walk you through what we have so far." He said walking around to sit in Booth's desk chair. "However, what is said in here doesn't leave this building. We do not want the name of the shooter or the names of the kids on the list released to the media. I suspended your security clearance so you can hear this from me, personally. I was actually going to, _unofficially_, ask you guys if you could help us out. _Unofficially._" He said again, emphasizing the word. "Technically, you're both still on vacation, and are thus both civilians at the moment. I would like your opinions, as civilians, instead of as a special agent and an expert."

"I don't understand." Brennan said.

"Bones, if he asks us, as civilians, we can give them an idea without it jeopardizing the case because not only is this case not in my department, but we are too close to it. As civilians, our names won't be present on any of the paperwork and we can't be called to testify as expert witnesses, which wouldn't be allowed because of our proximity to the case anyway."

"Oh, so you're asking us, _unofficially_, because your other people have come up with nothing." Brennan concluded.

"Well, yes and no. This isn't _your_ normal kind of jigsaw-put-the-body-back-together kind of case. This case is one of those open and shut cases where the shooter and victims are all known right off the bat. What we're having trouble with is this." Cullen said as he turned the monitor back on and pulled up a scan of the kid's hit list. "This is the list the shooter, Brian Schultz, was carrying with him."

"Brian Shultz, why does that name sound familiar?" Brennan asked Booth.

"He was one of Parker's close friends. They used to do everything together, but not so much in the past year. He was on Parker's hockey team as well."

Booth was afraid to find out who the kid was, and now that he knew who it was, he knew why his son was now so afraid. This kid was one of Parker's best friends. They played hockey together and sometimes had sleepovers.

"Sir, when they questioned Parker at the scene, did they reveal to him that he was on the list?" Booth asked.

"Yes, Booth. He knows about this list, he knows he was on the list, and he knows who the shooter was."

"Damn it!" He hissed through clenched teeth as he looked to the ceiling. He palmed the back of his neck as if trying to rub the tension away.

"Agent Booth, please calm down. If you cannot handle this, we can stop right here." Cullen said with immediate results.

"Sorry, sir."

"The cops on the scene had to question him, you know that."

"I know. It's just that Parker has locked himself in his closet and won't come out for anything other than to go to the bathroom and eat. He wouldn't even come out to go with Hodgins and Angela to come pick us up from the airport."

"I'll have Sweets contact you to set something up. If he feels it's necessary, he can refer you to a specialist."

"Thanks."

"Okay, back to the list. We have this list of names. There are seventeen names on the list, Parker's included, but what no one can figure out is the message at the bottom."

_Remember: You deserved it more!_

Then Cullen continued, "This is also the only thing he has said since being brought into FBI custody. He keeps saying he deserved it more."

"I can't explain that, but one thing I can tell you from this list right away," Angela started, and after gaining everyone's attention, she continued. "This list was not written by a child. This is an adult's handwriting. While, I'm not a handwriting expert, I can tell you that little boys' handwriting at these kids' age does not look like that. This is too neat, too perfect."

"I agree with Angela; Parker's handwriting is barely legible." Brennan added.

"Hey, it isn't that bad, Bones." Booth feigned hurt.

"You say that, but only because your handwriting is very similar and just as illegible as his at times." Brennan replied, still looking at the list. Then she let out a gasp, "Booth." It came out as almost a whisper.

"What, Bones?"

"These names _all_ look familiar, not just Brian's."

"Yeah, I agree. Okay, so these three and the shooter were all on Parker's hockey team. Wait! Bones! You are a genius," he said leaning over to kiss her temple.

"I know, but I didn't say anything helpful."

"Yes, you did; look, _all_ of these kids were in the hockey league Parker played in. Three of the kids on the list, plus Parker and the shooter were all on the same team. The other kids' names look familiar because they were all chosen for the All-Star hockey team that was going to play against different leagues around the city. The shooter was _not_ chosen to be on the All-Star team."

"That sounds like maybe there was some jealousy, there." Angela said after thinking for a moment.

Booth thought about it. Something about this didn't make sense. He couldn't quite figure it out, and Bones beat him to it.

"But this list was not written by Brian. It was written by an adult."

"Bingo, baby. That's it. There was some jealousy, but it wasn't the kid. Bones, think back to all of the hockey games we attended. Do you remember that obnoxious man that always seemed to get on everyone's nerves claiming that his son didn't get enough playing time on the ice and he always seemed to be screaming inappropriate obscenities at the refs and the coaches? That man was this boy's father. I'm sure of it. This message at the bottom of the list looks like some kind of sick encouragement. The boy did the shooting, but a million bucks says this kid's father brainwashed him to do this under the pretense that he deserve to be chosen for the team more than the others."

"Booth, you should be betting money on anything, but that sounds plausible even though we have no proof." Brennan said.

"What a sicko." Angela said in disgust.

"Yeah, it is sick, and we don't have proof, or we won't until a handwriting expert links the father to the hit-list, but now we're at least been able to give the agents on this case something to go off of, and it isn't going to be so cut and dry as it was before."

"What I would like to know is why didn't any of the other agents piece this together?" Angela asked.

"To an outsider, myself included, the names appeared to be random. We didn't know if maybe this kid was bullied by the kids on the list or what was going on, especially since he hasn't talked to anyone other than repeating what the message on the list said." Cullen said.

"What's going to happen to Brian?" Brennan asked.

"I can't say for sure. I can only say that he won't walk on this. He may only be ten, but he shot thirteen other kids, so he's going to do time for it. I just can't say whether it will be in a juvenile rehabilitation facility or if it will be in a psychiatric facility."

"And the dad?" Angela asked.

"Assuming the handwriting analysts confirm that this is his handwriting, he will also do some serious time." He shut down the computer and stood. "Thank you for time, Booth. Take the missus home, and take care of your boy. If you need time off this next week, just let me know, and I will understand."

"Alright. Thank you, sir, for letting us in on this _unofficially_."

"I'm sure that you may be called in for questioning regarding the father's demeanor at games. That may be the only official way that we can use both of you to help this case. Now, get on out of here, and enjoy the weekend." He ushered them out of the office, closing the door.

"Goodbye, sir."

* * *

**Reviews make the muse happy.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	38. Confusing Instability with Guilt

**Whew! Finally got this one done. I told myself when the break started that I would get more writing done, but then I got side tracked with the sequel to a story I read by NatesMama. I have read several of her fics, and decided to read just about all of them the past few days. So between reading her stuff, writing for this fic and ignoring my others, and feeding my Fallout 3 addiction, this one is finally out. And if you haven't read any of NatesMama's fics, you should.**

**R&R  
**

**

* * *

**

The ride from the Hoover to the Booth residence was filled with more inquiry from Angela as she drove them home.

_Married sex is a thousand times better, isn't it?_

_Did you even leave the villa?_

_Did you guys have sex on the beach?_

_Oh, did you make use of the other two villas?_

_What about the pool?_

_OH! Did you make any sexy honeymoon videos?_

The list of question went on and on, and each one was met with silence and the occasional nervous cough from Booth and a light chuckle from Brennan as Angela's mind just spouted each question like a fountain does water, never stopping.

As they sat in the back dodging questions, Angela thought that it was cute that they wanted to be so near each other. She watched them through the rearview mirror, not missing a moment of their interaction and reactions to her questions. Some of their body language—and sputtering coughs from Booth—alone answered a few of her questions. The amount of love and care in their actions towards each other floored her. How had she not noticed their relationship until almost seven months into it, and only because Brennan needed her help? Now, just over five weeks since finding out, she sees that they hadn't really changed much about how they treated each other in public except that the touches between the two of them were slightly more intimate (but still appropriate in the presence of other people), but the looks on their faces haven't changed since…for as long as she could remember now. _How could I have missed what was right in front of my face? I'm glad they both finally caught up to their own realities._

"Okay, Ange. That's enough, really. We need to concentrate on Parker now," Brennan halted her friend's endless line of interrogation. "You can stop making Seeley uncomfortable now. I would really rather prefer it if he didn't have a myocardial infarction before our baby's arrival."

"Yeah, and that doesn't mean you get to resume questioning as soon as he's born either. I would rather not ever have a myo-what-she-said." Booth added.

"I know you're curious as to how things went for us, Ange," Brennan looked up to the front at her friend, "but let me assure you that it was an amazing experience. I know you and Jack didn't have a chance for a honeymoon yet, you should definitely try to do so sometime. I definitely recommend that you go where we went. Complete privacy except for the few wait staff and chef that comes by to clean and prepare meals."

"Hodgins would love the bugs and stuff on that island; it was really incredible." Booth said as he lightly squeezed Brennan's thigh.

"Yeah, he showed me some of the pictures you sent him. He was super jealous of you guys for seeing that beetle and some of the fauna. It may not be hard to persuade him into taking me." Angela said with a hopeful smile. "So, do I get to know anything?"

"You get to know exactly what Parker gets to know." Booth said, smiling at Brennan.

"Aw, you're no fun." Angela feigned disappointment.

"Or maybe you're just too nosy for your own good."

**B&B**

They all walked up to the apartment together talking a little about the strategy they should use to talk to Parkr to see if he would be willing to come out of his closet for Booth and Brennan when they stepped off of the elevator on their floor they saw Sweets standing at the door.

"Oh, hey guys. I was just about to knock," he said lowering his hand.

"Sweets what are you doing here?" Booth regarded him suspiciously.

"Cullen called me. He said you thought it was a good idea."

"Yeah, he said he was going to tell you to _call_ us to set something up, not just show up here unannounced with no plan. I would like to see how Parker is for myself before we allow someone else to just swoop in and try to help." Booth said, all but getting in the kid's face. "After your little game of Spanish Inquisition at our wedding reception, I'm not sure I can handle talking to you like the adult you think you are right now."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to overstep; I just wanted to…Booth, I'm here as a friend. I don't have to be here in a professional capacity. Not if you don't want me to."

"No, I know you. You can't turn the head shrinking off. It's what you do. It almost got you shot with that cannon Bones had tucked into her boot at our reception."

"Booth, head shrinking is not a practice that…" his look told her that she had taken him too literally, "oh that was a jab at his profession. I get it." She paused considering her next words. "Maybe we should let him in. Parker doesn't even have to know he's here. We can go in and try to talk to Parker and Dr. Sweets can sit out of sight in the hall or something so that he can observe the situation. Then, maybe we can prepare a strategy for how to cope with this situation."

"Bones, I would rather not have someone _spy_ on my son. I would also rather not just _cope_ with the situation." Booth said with more malice than he intended. When he saw her expression change and saw her recoil at his words he so carelessly spat at her, he moved toward her to wrap his arms around her waist and pull her close not caring that the twelve year old and inquisitive best friend were watching them closely. "I'm sorry, Bones. I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that…this is my son," his voice betrayed his emotion slightly, "ya know? I don't really know what to do, but I don't want him feeling like we are ganging up against him."

"Agent Booth, you're absolutely right in not wanting him to feel like that." Booth stiffed in Brennan's arms about to say something in relation to the fact that the kid was butting into his business, but he stopped when he realized that Sweets had actually agreed with him. "As it is, he probably already feels that way. Cullen filled me in on the case regarding Brent and the abuse. For now, I'm going to ignore the fact that you guys didn't trust me with that information when I could have helped you get through that." Booth glared at him, so he quickly moved on. "Well, two people he was fairly close to have betrayed him. He is probably not so trusting of those close to him right now. His almost stepfather abused him and his mother, and now one of his close friends shot and killed other friends and peers from his hockey team. Not only that, but he was one of the intended targets. He most likely does feel like people he cares about are ganging up on him. Cullen mentioned that he wouldn't come out of his closet, not even for his mother or to come get you guys from the airport. _This_ is bigger than finding a human finger in a nest, Agent Booth."

Booth nodded in agreement. Brennan grabbed his hand that he had clenched into a fist, and it instantly relaxed into hers, lacing their fingers together.

"Let's just go in and sit down." Angela suggested.

Booth relented and was just about to turn the key in the lock as the door opened.

"So, are you guys going to come in or are you going to continue to stand out here and talk loud enough for the whole floor to know your personal life?" Hodgins said as he opened the door wide enough to step aside and motion the others inside.

"We were just about to come in, Jack," Angela said. "You guys all have a seat and discuss what you want to do." She grabbed a hold of Jack's arm, "Jack and I will get you guys something to drink." She pulled him into the kitchen.

Booth dropped their luggage by the door and shut it behind everyone as they walked in. He gestured for Sweets to have a seat in the leather armchair. He took his coat off and helped Bones with hers. He hung them up in the hall closet and sat next to Brennan on the couch adjacent to the chair.

In the kitchen, Angela was getting glasses out of the cupboard. She poured some orange juice for herself and Brennan and iced sweet tea for Jack, Sweets, and Booth. "Here you take these in there," she shoved the tray into his hands. "Make sure to mediate that conversation. It was getting pretty intense in the hallway. I'm sure the last thing Parker needs is for people to raise their voices in here."

"You've got it boss."

As he walked into the living room he heard Booth start to get angry, "We are not going to allow you to spy on my son!"

"Alright, fine. Then you both go in there and talk to him. See what you can accomplish and then you can relay to me what you observe."

"That's better than having you eavesdrop on him." Booth stood.

"Okay, I have some questions I need you to ask him if he is willing to answer."

"I investigate people for a living, besides this isn't an interrogation! I know what I need to ask my son. I don't need your intrusive list. I know there are things that we need to know. We need to know what he saw. We need to know where he was in relation to the shooter. We know that he knows he was on that kid's hit list, but we need to know how he found out. Did the cops tell him, or did he hear it from Rebecca or someone else? I know." He turned to look at the man who entered back into the room a few seconds prior. "Hodgins?"

Jack looked up, having not expected anything to be directed toward him. "Yeah?"

"Did you get Parker out of his closet any while you were here alone with him?"

"Uh, about ten minutes before you got here he came out to go to the bathroom. He walked out here, very briefly and timidly, and asked if _Dr. Bones_ was home yet. I told him I would send you in as soon as you got here. He can no doubt hear voices. Maybe you should go in there soon."

"He asked about me? Why me and not Booth?" Brennan asked looking at the hurt on her husband's face. She linked her arm in his and leaned into him more.

"Dr. Brennan, I understand that you were the one to initially help him when he went through the investigative part of the abuse case, correct?" Sweets asked, having already developed a theory.

"Yes. I was the one to take photos of his bruising and ask personal questions regarding the type of abuse." She replied. While everyone else seemed to sense where this was going, she still remained clueless, so he explained.

"It's possible that during that time, he developed a level of trust with you that he doesn't really have with anyone else. He confided in you then, so maybe he needs that now, and he is waiting for you."

"Okay, Bones, go talk to him."

"Uh, not so fast, Agent Booth." Sweets held up his hand. "Dr. Brennan, I need you to ask some of the questions that Booth brought up earlier. We need to figure those things out before we can really come up with a plan of action."

"Okay. Maybe I should take a piece offering of some sort in order to get him to come out to me. Angela, was there any chocolate milk in the refrigerator?"

"Yeah, there was. I'll go pour him a glass."

"Thanks. Maybe if he'll come out to talk to me rather than talk through the door, it'll be a positive thing."

"Absolutely. I agree. If you can get him to come out, even through bribery, so that you can talk to him face to face complete with the trust of eye contact, then it might be possible that he will be comfortable enough to not feel compelled to go back in." Sweets said. "It's also possible that just the fact that the person he was asking for is going in there to talk to him, would make him feel comfortable enough to stay out."

Angela walked in the room with the glass, "Here you go, Sweetie. I poured some extra syrup in there to make it extra sugary for our mini-Booth."

Booth was certain that Brennan was going to complain about adding more chocolate syrup to an already plenty chocolately treat. Instead, she brought the glass to just under her nose. She sniffed at the liquid and shut her eyes as the smell of chocolate hit her olfactory sensory neurons and sent axons through her olfactory nerve and to her brain.

"Booth," she looked pointedly at him, "I expect one of these to be waiting for me when I get back."

**B&B**

"Parker? It's me."

"Dr. Bones?" she heard the muffled call come from the closet.

"Yep. We're home."

"Is dad out there, too?"

"No. He is in the living room. Jack said you were asking for me, so he wanted to give us some time alone. If you want him in here, I can call him in."

"No. I just want to talk to you."

"Okay. He understands. Hey, guess what."

"What?"

"I have chocolate milk here. There's extra syrup in it."

"But you always say that I can't have extra syrup."

"Well, this time it's okay." She sat on his bed and made herself comfortable. "And actually if you don't come and get it, I just might drink it all. Your baby brother seems to really want some chocolate right now."

"NO! I'll come out." He opened the door, and practically ran and jumped onto his bed. "You weren't really going to drink my milk, were you?"

"No. Your dad is supposed to be making me one, right now."

"Okay good. I _really_ like chocolate milk."

"I know." She smiled at the boy as he chugged a fair amount of the milk. "Slow down. You don't want to make yourself sick."

"Uh, hello. I have the Booth family stomach of steel. I won't get sick." He said with the same cocky smile his father often wore as he pointed at his stomach. "How's _your_ stomach?" He asked, moving one of his hands to her belly. "Mom said that you got really sick on the way to where you were going."

"I'm fine now. On our way to the islands, I did get motion sickness, but on the way home, Jack was kind enough to arrange better transportation for us so that I wouldn't get so sick. I think it worked."

"Good, I don't like it when you're sick, or when mom is sick, or when dad is sick, or me. Being sick is no fun."

"No it isn't. Hey Parker?"

"Yep?" He took another gulp of milk, and then set the glass down.

"Why haven't you come out of your closet since…" She trailed off not knowing how to put it delicately. Booth always told her she lacked tact.

"Since Brian killed my teammates and friends?"

"Yeah. I was trying to be more sensitive than that."

"Dr. Bones, one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you over anyone else is because you say things how they are and you don't treat me like a baby. Mom practically smothered me asking me if I was okay every two minutes. It was annoying, so I just decided to lock myself in my closet and ignored her."

"Why didn't you come out when Jack and Angela got here to take you with them to pick us up from the airport?"

"Well, because dad is like mom. Too many questions. I knew that the second he saw me, he wouldn't let me leave his sight. I need my space. I'm ten years old now."

"You are ten, and you do need your personal space. Your father knows that, but we came very close to losing you. He just wants to make sure you're okay. It's what parents do. You should feel lucky that you have your mom and dad…and me to make sure you're okay like that. Not everyone has that."

"Oh. You mean, like you didn't have after your parents left?"

"Yeah, like that, but I was lucky when they were there. My parents always made sure I was safe, and unfortunately that meant ultimately leaving Russ and me behind to protect our lives. However the foster parents I was placed with, they never cared enough to ask how I was."

"I'm sorry." He paused for a second. "I think I might have hurt mom's feelings."

"How so?"

"Well, I kept asking for you, and eventually she just left me food and left me alone."

"She didn't tell us this on the phone." Brennan said concerned. "But I can tell you that your father was also slightly hurt that you wanted to see me over him. He won't ever come out and say it, but I know him well enough to know that it did hurt him."

"I didn't mean to hurt him either."

"I know, baby." She reached her arms around him and pulled him into her side kissing the top of his head. "So, you know how you like it when I just say or ask what is on my mind?"

"Yeah."

"I have a few things to ask you. They may not be the easiest questions to answer. It may be harder to talk about than when I asked you about Brent, okay?"

"Okay."

"This is going to be difficult to talk about. I know; so take your time answering if you need to." Parker nodded and she continued, "I also need you to understand that this is just so that your dad and I know what you witnessed so that we can help you through this. This isn't official and will not be reported to the police. I understand that you have already given your statement, correct?" Parker nodded once more. "Okay good. First thing, I need to know. At the time that the shooting happened, where were you in relation to Brian?"

"I was on the same side of the gym. That's where it happened. It was P.E. and we were all playing dodge ball. We were supposed to be outside but it started snowing so they brought us in to play dodge ball. We were on the same team." He paused and looked up at Brennan as if he just figured out while all of this happened in the first place. He may not have known the connection between Brian and his dad, but he certainly figured out that this was about the All-Star hockey team. "_We were on the same team_, Bones." He repeated again, emotion finally seeping through. "He was one of my best friends."

"I know, baby. Can you tell me what happened?" She reached over to his nightstand, plucked a few tissues out of the box, and handed them to him.

He wiped his eyes and nose before speaking, "We were playing dodge ball, and I am not sure what happened to set it off, but he…he pulled the gun out of his sweatpants. He started firing at some of the kids across the line on the other team. It was so loud, Bones; it was so loud." He took a shuddering breath. "There were a lot of kids shot…and blood; there was so much blood. Kids were running everywhere. I couldn't just stand there."

"What do you mean by that?"

Parker looked at Brennan, dreading telling her what he did. Scared of telling her what he felt he had to do. He hadn't even told his mom. He told the police that questioned him, but only because his mom was not sitting there with him.

"I didn't run, but I couldn't just stand there and watch it happen."

"Parker, what did you do? You need to tell me. I don't mean to push you, but you're starting to scare me." Brennan said with tears in her eyes.

"I don't want you to be scared, Bones. I'm fine, okay. I'm here." He took the time to move away from Brennan slightly so that she could see that he was fine. He hugged one of his pillows as he began to talk again. "I did something that I don't think dad is going to like. I—" He paused again to take a deep breath. "I kicked the gun out of Brian's hand. It was risky, but I was behind him, and I had a clear shot to kick it away. It was already too late as it was. He shot so many people. I had just learned this really cool kick in martial arts, and it just seemed like the right thing to do, but I know that dad is going to hate me for not running and putting myself in danger like that. Mom too, she won't like that one bit. That's another reason I have stayed in my closet. I couldn't face mom after I didn't tell her what I did. It was almost like a lie, and they say in church that it isn't good to lie. It makes me feel bad when I do." Everything came out in a rush causing Brennan's head to spin trying to catch up to the information coming out of her stepson's mouth.

"Parker, come here," she held her arms open to him again and he willingly went into her embrace. "You did the right thing. Yes, it was dangerous, but you were in danger regardless of what you did. You may have saved many other students, including yourself. You know that, right? You did the right thing."

"I guess, but I still feel like I lied."

"Well, then, how about we talk to your dad? Is it okay if I go get him? I could really use that chocolate milk right now." He gave a knowing half smile to her, which she returned, relieved to see that he was truly okay. "But first, I have to ask you one more thing."

"Okay."

"How did you find out about the list?"

"Do you mean the list in general or how did I find out that I was on the list?"

"Both."

"I saw the list in Brian's hand as he looked at it between shots. It was almost as if he made sure not to get the wrong people. At the time, I couldn't make out what was on the list because I was trying to figure out what to do. After I kicked the gun to the ground the P.E. teacher rushed over to hold Brian down, and another coach ran over to the gun to make sure that no one touched it."

"Hmmm, maybe that coach would make a good addition to one of my crime scene teams."

"That's funny, Bones. I thought the same thing. I know how you are about your evidence. I heard dad chewing some poor guy out on the phone once." He laughed and then turned more serious when he continued. He was grateful that Bones was trying to lighten things up a little. "I found out that I was on the list from the cops that questioned me. I was shocked then, but I think I know why now. I realized it earlier. It was because of the All-Star team, right?"

"Yes, Parker."

Parker looked down and swallowed hard. He nodded and then looked back up.

"Dr. Bones?"

"Yes?"

"Are Angela and Jack still out there?"

"Yes, and so is Dr. Sweets. He wanted to make sure you were doing okay, too."

"Good, I want to see them. I feel bad for ignoring them earlier, and I like Sweets. Maybe he will play the Wii with me."

"Maybe. Do you still want me to bring your dad in? Or do you want to go out there?"

"Eh, I'll go out there. Jack and Angela are family. Sweets, too I guess. I think they'll all be glad to know I'm okay."

"Do you want me to tell your dad about your heroic actions or do you want to?"

"I'll tell him. I feel better having told you at least. I know I will feel even better if I tell him, too. And maybe I can show you all my awesome new kick!"

"Alright, then, let's get out there." Brennan stood, she wobbled slightly and Parker reached across to steady her in a motion that reminded her so much of his father.

So much like his father he really was. Always doing the right thing, no matter how scary or dangerous. It must be engrained in the Booth family DNA. She wondered what kind of Boothy attributes the child she was carrying was going to display in their future. It humbled and scared her at the same time. Booth was a good man, but sometimes his actions scared her. Now Parker was displaying some of the same characteristics. It only stood to reason that their offspring would turn out the same way.

* * *

**Leave a review to me know what you think.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	39. Only a Matter of Time

"So let me get this straight, Baby Booth; you went ninja on his ass!" Angela beamed.

"Angela, I'm not a baby," Parker said. He was leaning slightly into Brennan for support since she knew what he was trying to tell everyone. He took one of his small hands and placed it on Brennan's stomach. "This is a baby." Then he pointed to himself, "I am ten years old; and yeah, I totally went _ninja_ on his—"

"PARKER!" sounded the chorus from both Booth and Brennan.

"What? I was going to say _butt_. Dad says I can't use those words at least until I have armpit hair. I checked yesterday, and I don't have any yet."

"Yeah, sure you were," Angela mused.

"Can I show you guys my new kick now?" Parker asked, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

**B&B**

Parker was actually going to take his father back into the bedroom to talk, but Brennan whispered to him and told him that maybe it would be a good idea to tell him out here so that he didn't go _postage_. He laughed, corrected her, and then agreed that maybe that would be the better course of action.

Booth would have gone _postal_ had Brennan not leaned over and warned him not to get upset and just listen to what he had to say right before Parker started telling his tale of heroics.

Brennan also figured that by having him tell everyone, it would save them from having to tell the difficult story to their friends, and at the same time, Dr. Sweets could hear it straight from Parker. She didn't put much stock in psychology, but she had to admit that there were times when it had its place. This was definitely one of those times.

It was several minutes later, and Booth still hadn't said anything aloud. However, Brennan could tell his mind was busy doing something. He definitely looked like there was something going on, internally. She let go of Parker as he challenged Sweets to some Wii bowling. She thought, _Poor Sweets; he doesn't have a chance!_ She put her arm around Booth and leaned into him. He was stiff and still focused on something in his head, thinking perhaps. Perhaps feeling guilty for not being here for his son, feeling guilty for enjoying his time away with his wife when his son needed them, needed _her_. He was looking down at the floor, occasionally closing his eyes for a few extended moments and taking a deep breath. She curled further into him, placing the arm that was around his shoulders down further behind his warm back. Not caring who was in the room or who saw she brought one of her legs to drape over his leg closest to her as she laid her other arm across his abdomen.

"Booth, are you okay?"

No response.

"Booth?" She tapped lightly with the hand resting on his stomach.

He looked from his place on the floor to her face looking up at him from his chest. "Hmm?"

"Are you okay? You haven't said anything."

"I'm just thanking every Saint I can think of. I just don't know whether to be happy or to be incredibly angry at him for putting his life in danger."

"Booth, as I told Parker, his life was already in danger. He saved lives, including his own, by doing what he did. I don't think he put himself in any more danger than he already was. He was standing behind Brian, and by running away, he might have drawn attention to himself. I think he thought logically and used his new skill in a very appropriate manner," she said lightly tracing the design on his t-shirt. "He was afraid to tell you, you know."

"He was?"

"Yes. He hadn't even told Rebecca. At first, he said he was hiding in his closet to get away from the questions that Rebecca kept asking him, but I thought that didn't sound like something he would do. I didn't push him on it. After he told me about kicking the gun away, he told me he felt guilty for not telling Rebecca. He apparently told the cops that questioned him because she wasn't there with him at that point, but he felt bad for not telling the whole truth. He felt like he couldn't face her or anyone really because he felt like he had lied."

"He just didn't want us to worry. That kid is—"

"Very much like you." Brennan finished for him.

"I'm so glad he is okay. I don't know what I would do if…" he trailed off not being able to bring himself to say what he thought. He didn't need to, Brennan knew exactly what he was going to say. Booth kissed the crown of her head and breathed her scent in deep.

"Agent Booth? I hate to interrupt," Sweets said with sincerity, "but I would like to suggest something."

"Go ahead Sweets, we know you will whether we agree or not." Booth said pulling Brennan further into his lap, gaining eyebrow raises from Sweets and Angela. Hodgins was currently occupied playing the winner of the last round of Wii Bowling.

"Ahem! Uh, well…uh…could you guys separate for a minute while I talk? I can't talk to you when you are, uh…like _that_." He gestured wildly to their bodies intertwined on the couch.

"Oh, so you mean if we walk into a session and sit like _this_, you wouldn't talk to us or badger us about personal matters?" Booth asked. "Good to know."

"Booth, maybe we should have figured that out like three years ago." Brennan said to him.

"Maybe," Booth said. Both of them were tuning out the fact that there were others in the room. "If we had, who knows, maybe we would have figured out we fit well together much sooner. If we figured out laying together in each other's arms would make the kid sputter we would likely do it every session, right?"

"That sounds like it would have been effective; if only we had known."

"It is; oh, and we would have figured out this thing between us sooner because there would be no way I could hold you like this platonically for any length of time, especially not after repeated sessions of holding you. No way. You're too warm and you smell so…"

"It would have only been a matter of time…" Brennan started before Sweets' voice finally cut through their interactions.

"Agent Booth!" Sweets called out just as he had been practically this whole time the couple had tuned him and Angela out.

"What do you want, kid? We're having a _moment_." Booth growled.

"Is that what you're calling it now?" Angela muttered with a huge grin and an eye roll.

Everyone ignored Angela's comment as Sweets and Booth stared each other down.

"Agent Booth, I just wanted to tell you that I think Parker is doing remarkably well given the circumstances. I don't see any signs of much other than guilt. That isn't to say that there won't be any underlying issues. Things that we may not see now, but there is a possibility that certain things could trigger reactions. You just need to watch out for some signs that there is a problem. Anything can set off memory of the incident. I would like to see him once a week. Just bring him by and we can sit and play games. I'll talk casually with him to see how he is doing. I won't specifically ask him about anything if there seems to not be a problem. If he does start to have reactions triggered by something, you need to make a note of it so that we can all discuss it. If that does happen, I may increase the sessions per week."

Booth turned to his wife, "Long-winded, isn't he?"

"Yes, but I think I'm okay with that arrangement. Are you?"

"Yes."

"Agent Booth, I'm right here. You could tell me, directly." Sweets spoke up.

"What about Rebecca?" Brennan asked, ignoring Sweets. "Do you think she would be okay with this arrangement?"

"Yeah, sure. She'll probably just be thrilled he isn't in his closet anymore. She might flip when she hears about his _kung-foo_ moment, she'll blame it on me, and then _you'll_ tell her the same thing that you told me and Parker." He shrugged.

"Parker and me," she corrected.

"I know, I just do that to get a rise out of you, just like you sometimes pretend to not know things that I _know_ you know because I have already told you before."

"You got me."

"Yes, I do."

He leaned down to kiss her with the thought that their friends and son were still present faintly at the back of their mind. When they heard the front door slam, sounds of "ewww" could be heard from Parker, the wolf whistle from Hodgins, and the cheers from Angela finally seeped through their pheromone fogged brains, they broke apart and realized Sweets had left.

"Where's the baby duck?" Brennan asked.

"Sweetie, he said he would talk to you guys on Monday when you're at work in your uber-professional mode so that he didn't have to try to talk louder than your hormones and then he left." Angela explained, clearly ecstatic about the couple, who were still clearly in honeymoon mode.

"Angela, hormones are chemicals in the brain and cannot literally talk." Brennan said seriously.

Breaking the silence, "I have an idea," Jack spoke up. "We could take Parker out for some ice cream," he saw the look on Brennan's face, and quickly corrected himself holding his fingers crossed behind his back, "_or something more_ _healthy_ while you guys settle in and unpack your things. I mean, if it's okay with you guys, of course." When the look on her face didn't go away, he looked to Booth for help. "I can't figure that face out, man. That's not a Dr. B face I'm familiar with. A little help would be nice."

Booth looked up to Brennan's bright eyes and slightly irritated and disappointed face. "Oh, that one. Haha, that particular face means she wants ice cream and she's pissed you didn't ask if she wants to go. She attacked that chocolate milk and finished it off pretty fast, but that won't stop her from wanting some ice cream."

"How about this, we go get ice cream and bring some back to you. That way neither of you have to go anywhere and you can get unpacked. You guys just got back; I know you just want to relax."

"Thanks Ange." Brennan smiled at her friend.

"What kind do you want?" Jack asked.

"I'll have strawberry," Booth said. "Bones, what about you?"

"I want…" she drew out the word as she thought, "Where are you going for the ice cream?"

"Probably Cold Stone." Jack replied

"The closest one is in Arlington." Brennan said.

"Yeah, but they have the best ice cream." Angela said, already anticipating the creamy goodness of the ice cream.

"It will be all melty by the time you get back here to Adams Morgan with ours." Brennan pouted.

"Well, why don't we just come with you guys?" Booth said. "It's fine. We are tired from traveling, but now that she wants ice cream, nothing will be calm around here until she gets it. Might as well make it a family trip. Someone should call Cam and Wendell to see if they want to go. Sweets is probably going back to the office, but they should be free because there is no way anything is being accomplished at the lab with her most valuable employees standing around here in our living room."

"I'll go call Cam and Wendell," Angela said. "Bren do you think your dad will want to come?"

"He's staying with Russ and Amy this weekend. He probably already left town."

Jack offered to go warm up the car.

"Nah man," Booth tossed his keys over to Hodgins. "Warm up the SUV, it hasn't been started in a week, and I really need to get it started, especially since it's so cold. We'll all fit in the SUV easier anyway. Two rows of back seats come in handy sometimes."

"Good thinking." Jack said walking out of the door putting his jacket on.

Booth walked to the closet to get their coats. He tossed Parker his coat and helped Brennan put her coat on before putting his leather jacket on. He looked over to Angela who was just standing there with a faux pout on her face as she held out her jacket. He rolled his eyes and helped her put her jacket on, too. "You picked a good one, Bren."

"I know." She wrapped her arms around Booth underneath the leather of his jacket and snuggled into him.

"Are you guys gonna kiss again?" Parker asked.

"Definitely." Brennan said leaning in to capture Booth's lips with hers. "Now, let's go get me some ice cream!"

**B&B**

They had all gotten different kinds of ice cream. Booth got his regular strawberry while Brennan and Wendell got chocolate. Angela got butter pecan while Jack got mint chocolate chip. Cam got cookie dough while Parker got cotton candy flavored ice cream. They all enjoyed their ice cream, and on top of eating her own ice cream, Brennan managed to bum a bite from everyone else.

Rebecca called Booth during her short lunch break to check to make sure everything was okay. Booth explained that they had managed to get Parker out of the closet and that he was now enjoying some ice cream with everyone in Arlington. He told Rebecca that they would talk more about why he shut himself off in his closet for the past day and a half when she got home. He said it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but not something she should be told over the phone either. Of course that made her worry, but then again considering how close they had come to losing Parker that day she was just so glad that he wasn't just sitting in the closet rocking back and forth in dire need of mental health treatment or worse. Booth also told her that Sweets said he thought Parker was going to be fine, but they did still need to watch for signs that something waasn't quite right. Things that he normally wouldn't do and they also needed to be aware of things that could be triggers for flashbacks or bad memories. Things like noises, certain actions, certain places, and certain people…Booth told Rebecca they would talk more about it later and got off the phone with her to continue enjoying his ice cream.

**B&B**

A couple days had passed. Everything, so far, seemed to be fine. The talk with Rebecca had gone over just as Booth expected it to.

She was hurt that Parker didn't tell her the whole truth. Then she was angry with Booth for always being such a hero and rubbing off on Parker. Then just as planned Brennan talked her down telling her that Parker had been in danger regardless of what he did. Then Rebecca thanked the Brennan for supporting her son and thanked her for thinking to enroll him in a class that gave him the skill that he used to help defend himself and other classmates. She would have never dreamed that he would actually have to use those skills, and especially not in that manner, but she was relieved.

Rebecca was the one that surprised everyone and suggested that they file to make Brennan Parker's legal guardian to give her legal rights to him. Should anything happen to Booth, she would still be a part of his life, and should she need to provide permission for medical care for Parker in the event that no one else was available she would be able to.

Another topic of discussion was things that trigger reactions from Parker. Things they have not necessarily seen yet, but things that could still happen as time went on. They talked about people that could set it off. Mostly kids who were in that gym that day or coaches that were present to hold the Brian down and make sure the gun was secured. Or the lack of presence of some of the kids that were lost that day. They talked about places that could set off a bad reaction such as the school or gym itself as well as the arenas where they held hockey games. Booth considered the possibility that Parker wouldn't want to play the sport anymore or attend any of _his_ games. Then he wondered if Parker would ever want to play _any_ team sport anymore. They talked about sounds that could set off a reaction. Anything from balls bouncing, shoes squeaking on the floor to loud popping sounds like the backfire of an old car or fireworks on the Fourth of July.

All in all, the three adults came to the conclusion that it might be best for Parker to change schools instead of going back to his when they reopened on Tuesday of this next week. They discussed nearby schools and decided on Parker attending the school that was in their neighborhood, John Quincy Adams School. Previously he was attending a school that was in his mother's neighborhood, and this one would be much closer to home for him now as well as being a place that doesn't hold memories of those so tragically lost.

It was Sunday morning, and the Booth family was getting ready for church. Rebecca was still there with them. She was also getting ready. She would return home after today, but Booth had allowed her to spend some more time here for her own peace of mind since Parker had practically shut her out. Parker was able to see how much he had hurt his mother, and his father too, by not telling the whole truth. At breakfast that morning he told the three adults that he would be spending some time in the confessional about his half truth.

As Parker was talking, Booth realized something he had yet to consider.

_I will no longer have to confess to Father Mitch all of my impure thoughts, dreams, and actions toward my partner! I'm not going to get called a pervert anymore!

* * *

_**Review please.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	40. It's Going to Eat Me!

**This took longer than I expected to get posted. I have been without the internet for a few days. Our wireless router crashed. So, I got a lot of writing done, but I haven't had the patience to proof it and no way to post it until today anyway. This one's over 6,000 words. The story's total page count on word is 307, if you're curious. That's more than I've ever written for anything else. Even back in high school when all I did was write about Angel and Friends. And we ain't done yet. :) There's still quite a lot to go, and then even after the baby is born, I'm not sure I'll be able to let this one go. **

**If you've been waiting for an update to "She Isn't Enough," it'll come soon. Also coming soon, once proofed will be the M followup to my Christmas one-shot "Family Comes First." Also still slated to be proofed is a the next in the "Bailed Out" series. Keep and eye out for those.**

* * *

The first few days at Parker's new school went by smoothly. The teachers and principal were apprised of the situation surrounding the change of schools. They all agreed that by getting Parker quickly acclimated to his new school and daily life that things would return to normal for him quicker. It wouldn't diminish the pain of losing friends, but it would keep him from dwelling on the event as he sat around waiting for his life to move on. He had even already had a half hour session with Dr. Sweets. Sweets assured the Booths and Rebecca that Parker seemed to be remaining in a stable state of mind and there was nothing to worry about for the time being.

Brennan and Angela were out to lunch together since Booth had taken Wendell out to a crime scene that they had just been called to. Booth's birthday was in two days and this gave Brennan a good opportunity to consult her best friend for advice on what to do for Booth.

Angela and Jack had already purchased their gift for the g-man, but hadn't told Brennan what it was yet because it was honestly for both of them rather that just Booth.

Angela guessed that he probably didn't really want a big party because that just wasn't the kind of guy he was, and she remembered a party that had been thrown for him a few years back that had been pretty painful for him. So, she didn't think that some big get together at the Founding Fathers was a good idea. Besides that, it wouldn't be any fun for Brennan, who couldn't drink.

Finally, after a few minutes of brainstorming different ideas, a good one came to Brennan.

"We could have a family game night, with everyone at our place. We usually have at least one game night per week, but we missed last week's and the week prior's. I think it would be a good idea for everyone to come over for food, games, and movies. It could be like a party, but more relaxed and comfortable. Just casual, no big deal."

"That sounds like a good idea. Who's invited?"

"Just the team and Wendell, since he's Booth partner right now and their friends outside of work too. So just you and Jack, Cam, Sweets, our family, and Rebecca. We would invite Jared and Padme, but they are not in town right now."

"What about Booth's grandfather?"

"We are going to go see him tomorrow. We will leave right after Parker gets out of school. Hank saw the news this last week, and has been asking about Parker. We need to take him up there so that Hank can see that he's fine. He was so worried."

"I bet. I know what went through my mind when I heard it on the radio when I was working on a reconstruction. It was like my blood ran cold and my body froze. Thank goodness it wasn't too long after that you called me to see if we would go stay with them until you got back."

"Ange, you and Jack have done so much for us these past several weeks. There isn't any way we could ever repay you for that. I have the money to pay you guys back for the cost of everything, but that wouldn't even begin to show how truly thankful we are to have you in our lives."

"Yeah, and it would give Booth a heart attack."

"Agreed. As it is, he won't leave me alone about how much I paid for his ring."

"Did you tell him?"

"No, but he keeps asking. Maybe I should just tell him."

"Nah, let him keep asking. That little thing you guys do where you bicker but don't fight, yeah, that's hot, Sweetie. Hold on to that little morsel of information for as long as you can."

Brennan gave a throaty laugh.

"So, speaking of morsels, Sweetie, are you going to give me _any_ hot morsel from your honeymoon? Just a morsel, hell, a crumb even. Just a teeny tiny bite. Just tell me something," the artist pleaded. In truth, while she was still curious about their love life considering the power couple had shared practically nothing, she really wanted something to go off of when she started working on their Christmas present. She had awhile yet, but real true meaningful art is not something you just slap together. She wanted there to be something personal for them in her work. While she knew them both well enough to make a personal gift for them, she wanted to take it that one extra step. She wanted to give them something intimate. Something just for them. Something…that even a discreet gentleman such as Seeley Booth could admire and appreciate.

"Okay." She leaned in closely and decided to share a vague yet clear piece of advice that the artist could hopefully use when she drags her husband out to Frégate for their honeymoon. Brennan smiled a crooked smile with a half-cocked eyebrow. "Making love on the beach is everything you could possibly dream of and can be quite pleasant if you can manage to avoid the sand." She leaned back in her chair with a very satisfied smile and said nothing more.

"Oh, Sweetie! You just made my year. Sex on the beach, huh?" She also leaned back in her chair and reached to grab one of Brennan's fries, but found herself on the receiving end of a slap to the hand. "Nice. Do you slap your man like that, too?" Angela asked with an evil grin.

"Angela…" Brennan warned. "Don't you have your own sex-life on which to muse upon?"

**B&B**

"Dr. Hodgins," greeted Brennan as she walked into the lab and over to where his workstation was set up.

"Hey, Dr. B! How's the little guy doing today?"

"Hurting his mother's back, but otherwise, I assume he's fine."

"Felt him move yet?"

"No, not yet. I have a favor to ask of you."

He placed the slide he was preparing onto the deck of the microscope. "Sure, anything."

I have an idea for a gift for Booth, but I think you would enjoy helping me pick it out. Are you interested?"

**B&B**

Brennan was up on the platform examining the remains Booth had brought in. Technically, she hadn't been asked to consult on the case yet, but that didn't stop her from taking a cursory glance to make sure that Wendell didn't miss something in his previous examination. She tried not to make it obvious that her intention was just to double check, but Temperance Booth was not known for subtlety.

In all honesty, Wendell didn't mind the backup opinion of his mentor as she was still one of his grad professors and he had a great deal of respect for her expertise. He trusted her to know that it was more out of restlessness and weariness from being cooped up in the lab than a lack of trust in his professional skills. She had taught him, so she knew that he was good. She was bored with Limbo cases and he understood that this helped her feel like she was still in the crime-solving loop.

No one else said anything about it either, even though technically she shouldn't be near evidence in an investigation when she had not been officially asked to consult yet. As an intern, Wendell did not have the authority to ask for her consultation, in an official capacity. Cam was busy dealing with Michelle drama because her school had called and she ran off to take care of it.

They only other person who had the official capacity to ask her was sitting in his office at the Hoover getting filled in on a situation by Cullen because someone had paid Brian Shultz a visit in the juvenile psychiatric center the day before. The kid wasn't killed; he hadn't even been roughed up, but someone had gone and scared the living shit out of him. Booth knew he didn't do it. Cullen knew it wasn't Booth, but he told Booth to keep his nose clean and steer clear of anything to do with Brian Schultz or his father. He didn't want Booth's integrity to be questioned should anything else happen.

No one knew for sure who it was. There was no name signed in to visit the boy. The facility didn't make use of cameras in order to protect the privacy of the patients and families, so there was no video footage that could be seen from where the visit took place, and the footage they had received from outside of the facility had revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Just workers and families entering and exiting.

This meant that it had to be someone who worked inside the facility. Booth's mind flashed back to a time when the pig farmer was slain in prison by another prisoner at the order of a man on the outside. Even though this wasn't murder or assault even, he hoped like Hell Max wasn't involved.

Later in the day, he found out that the kid's dad and Brent had also been paid similar visits, and he knew it had to be Max doing what he could to protect his family. He was just thankful that he had not actually committed a crime that would make him leave Bones again, but he also knew that it would raise suspicion that all three people who received the visits had something to do with his son.

Cullen assured Booth that he knew Booth wasn't involved because he had been in the office all day. Booth knew Cullen shared his idea of who was behind the visits, so they bounced ideas off of each other. They talked about how Max previously had someone on the inside to kill someone. Even though Max wasn't convicted for ordering the hit, both men knew it was Max. They discussed the possibility that Max had set up the visits to scare the three prisoners. Booth agreed to warn his step-father to not do anything stupid.

**B&B**

"Dr. B, it's amazing. He'll love it almost as much as I do, I'm sure." Hodgins said in amazement and slight jealous at her purchase.

"I'm not sure he will at first, but I know that I will get some enjoyment out of it." Brennan said.

"Are you kidding?" He said incredulously. "Look at this beauty!" He pointed to the gift. "There is no way anyone could not love it!"

"Do you think you can keep it until I can give it to him and we get our own place to put it?"

"Yeah, baby!…uh, sorry. The baby thing just sort of…slipped out."

"Oh, and I need to borrow something..."

**B&B**

The next day the trip to see Hank was short but sweet. The elder Booth really did seem to brighten up at the appearance of his family. They had a small special celebration including a small chocolate cake and the showing of several pictures of the honeymoon. Of course, Hank had to touch Brennan's belly every chance he got. She had finally gotten used to the idea of people touching her stomach on a whim and now found herself enjoying the extra attention, when it was someone she didn't mind having their hands on her. There were still the occasional few who hadn't taken a hint and be on the receiving end of a swift kick to the shin.

They couldn't stay for long considering that they had drove up there only after Parker had gotten out of school and then they had to drive back before it got too late. It was always sad for Brennan to watch Booth leave his grandfather there. As they were leaving Brennan noticed Hank lean in to whisper something that only Booth could hear. She could tell that it choked him up a little.

On the ride home, she stayed silent. She turned on her side to watch him as he drove. She tried to sleep but she just wasn't comfortable enough.

Once they were home, Booth scooped the sleeping boy from the backseat and took him to his bed.

Only after lying in bed for a few minutes with Booth did she dare ask.

"What did Hank say to you before we left?" She asked softly.

He was on his side facing her, and he rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling briefly before taking a deep breath.

She thought that he wasn't going to answer her because maybe she had crossed a line.

"I'm sorry. That was…I shouldn't have pried; it was none of my business." She spoke softly and quickly as she stumbled over some of the words.

He turned his head on his pillow to look at her. "No baby, it's fine." He leaned over to her and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad you asked." He gave a small smile. "I'm just lost in my own thoughts, I guess. Big tough g-man on the outside, soft squishy and sentimental on the inside." Her face held a definite order of confusion, "Never mind, he just told me happy birthday and then told me that Gram would be proud of my little family. It just…I miss her so much. You would have loved her, Bones."

"Tell me about her?" She shifted closer into his arms.

"She was beautiful, Bones. She had really dark hair, almost black, and it never really faded to gray until the last few years of her life. She had porcelain skin a lot like yours. Perfect flawless skin. She had dark brown eyes that danced and sparkled when she smiled, which was all the time. She never looked her age. She didn't seem like she ever told us no. Spoiled Jared and me flat ass rotten after dad left. If we wanted to ice cream before dinner, Gram would sneak it to us even though Pops would say no."

"Do you think my dad is going to spoil our kids?"

At the mention of her father, he schooled his thoughts from earlier in the day. He didn't need to stress her out. She needed to know that it was a possibility that her father had something to do with the mysterious visits, but not tonight and not while discussing happy memories. And technically, if Max was involved no actual crime had been committed.

"Are you kidding, Bones? He already spoils Parker. I think it's in the job description of being a grandparent."

"I think you're right. Is there something that reminds you of her?"

"Golden Girls," he laughed, "it was one of her favorite shows. She watched it all the time, so much that I think I have many of the episodes memorized."

"I've never heard of that show."

"Bones! Rue McClanahan? Estelle Getty? Bea Arthur? Betty White? None of those names ring a bell?"

"No, well, I guess Betty White sounds familiar. I think she was on a game show my parents watched called Match Game."

"You watched Match Game? We did, too!"

They talked of things from their past that they hadn't shared before. All good memories that they rarely took the time to think about in the hustle and bustle of their busy lives.

"What's your favorite memory of her?" Brennan asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Walking in the house to smell an apple pie baking. Maybe that's why I eat so much pie. I know that seems materialistic and not something specifically about her, but she was a great cook. She had to take care of all us Booth men, right. My Pops, who can out-eat a family of five, then my dad and his brother when they were growing up, and then Jared and me when we were growing up. She was the best cook ever. She always seemed to know when I needed one of her apple pies. It's a wonder I wasn't a fat kid."

"I feel like I've been eating like a fat kid lately. Is a little self control too much to ask for?"

"Bones, you are not fat. Let me tell you, just how sexy you are."

He slid up on his elbows and hovered over her. He pulled the covers down exposing her breasts to him. "These full wonderful silky mounds," he said taking one in each hand, "are a great side effect of pregnancy. Fun for daddy, nourishment for baby. Can't go wrong there."

He pulled the covers back even more and ran his finger along her ribs tickling her lightly. She curled up on her side and he reached down for his next destination with one of his hands. "This," he said grabbing her ass, "hasn't changed a bit, despite what you _think_ you see." He gave it a nice squeeze before moving her to her back and straddling her.

He brought his hands to both sides of her stomach, "This is the sexiest change of all. There's nothing hotter than looking at the love of my life and knowing she's also going to be the mother of my child. Seeing this evidence of our love, this tangible undeniable evidence, Bones, this is what makes everything we've been through worth it."

She tried to pull him down onto her to kiss him, but instead of falling onto her, he rolled them to the side so as not to crush the evidence of their love.

"Make love to me, Seeley." She whispered hotly into his ear. She felt his arousal heighten at her words and the slight shiver the warmth of her breath sent through him.

The clock on the wall chimed midnight, and just as Booth slid into her, she let out a breathy, "Happy Birthday."

**B&B**

The next morning, things started out lazy. Parker slept in, which Booth and Brennan were thankful for because it gave Brennan a little more time to give the birthday boy some more birthday sex. Parker was a big boy now; he could fix his own cereal if he got hungry and entertain himself.

Several hours later, there was a pounding on their bedroom door just as Booth slid home and had his mouth honed in on one of Brennan's breasts.

"Bren! Booth! Come on. You should have been awake hours ago. It's past noon!"

This startled the couple who were well out of breath and now very frustrated.

"Ugh, babe, does Angela have a key?" Booth mumbled into her hair.

"No." She sighed, placed a pillow over her head, and let out a frustrated grunt.

"How did she get in?"

Her voice was muffled through the pillow, "It's after noon; I bet Parker let her in. Maybe he'll entertain her until she goes away."

"We should get up and get dressed before she beats the door down and we're both still laying here naked. We would never hear the end of it."

"Well, it's going to be just as bad if we walk out of here right now with sex hair." Brennan said.

"You know, I can hear you talking in there. Just get off of each other long enough to get dressed." Angela called through the door.

"ANGE! Please tell me you aren't saying things like that with Parker out there." Booth said pulling some gray sweatpants on.

"Relax g-man. He's watching cartoons."

He didn't even bother with boxers or a shirt. He waited for Bones to be decent before he ripped the door open and glared at the artist with his sweatpants hung low around his waist and the obvious protrusion of his arousal very evident and his hair sticking up in all directions. He couldn't even bring himself to care that he had given the artist an eyeful.

"_You_ are on my shit-list right now, Angela." Booth said and he brushed past her as she stared him down without even masking what she was doing. Look but don't touch was her motto (she's a married woman, after all), and damn was she looking!

"Oh, God, Bren. You are the luckiest woman alive." She waggled her eyebrows at her friend. "Judging from what I saw, _very lucky_." She said saucily.

"Angela, what are you doing here?"

Brennan's hair wasn't looking much better than Booth's. Angela grabbed the brush from Brennan's vanity and started running it through her friend's hair.

"Parker called me, Sweetie. He has been bored all morning. He called me to ask me to help him with something. I helped him, and now I'm talking to you." She smiled. "He said you guys haven't been out of here at all this morning…it's Booth's birthday…giving Agent Sexy Pants some sizzling hot birthday sex?"

Brennan blushed. Angela had actually managed to make her friend flustered. _That was a first_, Angela thought as she continued brushing Brennan's hair. Brennan just relaxed into the strokes of the brush. She always loved it when someone else played with her hair or massaged her head. Angela had been surprised to find that out a few years ago. Brennan told her that her mother always used to play with her hair, and then after her parents left she missed the gentle touches that she didn't even realize had become something she loved so much until it was gone.

"So, Jack showed me what you got Booth. Brilliant, Sweetie. Absolutely brilliant."

**B&B**

Everyone was gathered in the living room of the Booth residence. There had been several games played. Some played the Wii, all being crushed by Parker and Brennan, who were unstoppable. Others played card games, and some played board games. There was good food and a relaxing atmosphere. When it came time for the cake, Brennan announced that there wasn't cake, but instead she had gotten several apple pies from the dinner. She still wasn't going to eat any, but Booth appreciated the gesture and hauled her off to the bedroom to quietly and quickly thank her.

The pregnancy hormones made it fairly easy to give her a quick release as he pleasured her orally so that they could get back out there before anyone realized the birthday boy was not out there and came looking for them. When they re-emerged, no one was the wiser except Angela who had clearly had her sexed-up radar on. Booth's mussed up hair and Brennan's flushed cheeks told her all she needed to know.

It wasn't long before it came time for gifts. Sweets and Wendell had both gotten the agent some stripy socks as they figured that was always a safe gift. Rebecca had gotten tickets to the Flyers game. Cam had gotten him a few DVDs. Jack and Angela's gift blew the couple away.

They had gotten them a Doppler so that they could listen to their baby's heartbeat. Parker insisted that they try it out now, and so they did. The sounds had delighted all of the guests and made Parker want to just sit there all night and do that, but Brennan assured him they would do it again before he was sent to bed, Booth still had one more gift.

"Booth, before I give you my gift, I want you to know that I love you very much. A lot of thought was put into this one. I took Jack with me to pick it out because he's a guy and he has several of these and I needed his more knowledgeable opinion. Are you ready for it?"

"Uh huh," he said looking at her with a cocked head trying to figure her out. Something in her tone made it sound like a trick…he didn't know but there was no way she got him what it sounded like.

She motioned for Jack to step forward from behind the couch. He walked to the coffee table and set down a clear cage and what looked like a…

"Jesus Christ, Bones. You got me a _tarantula_?" Booth said, jumping up and running to safety behind the couch despite the fact that the spider was still in its clear confines.

Brennan and everyone else laughed. "You got him _good_," Cam told her.

Booth shot everyone a glare, including his son who was in stitches on the floor for a few moments before he kneeled down and stared into the clear container. "Can I hold it, dad?"

"_No_, that spider is big enough to gnaw your _arm_ off! It stays _in_ the cage." Booth said quickly.

"Dad, I think there's something in there." Parker pointed to the cage.

"Yeah, a _giant_ mother f—" Brennan quickly cut him off by clamping her hand firmly over his mouth.

"Um," Parker drawled out, "Bones, daddy almost said a swear word."

"Booth, the spider isn't your gift. It's what is inside the cage with the spider that leads to your gift. You just have to reach into the cage to _earn_ it."

"Earn it? Bones that is cruel! You are very mean."

"No, I'm just making you _work_ for your gift since I _know_ you'll say I spent too much on it."

"Bones, do you remember what I said when we saw that spider in our villa?"

"Yes."

He leaned in and whispered to where only she could hear. "Consider _junior_ under lockdown until further notice."

"Booth, that's not fair." She said aloud. "You said that you would do that if I told…oh, no I haven't said it or told anyone and I won't accidentally do it now!" Then she leaned over towards him and backed him up against a wall and whispered in a sultry tone that had him almost grabbing for something to place in front of junior. "_Earn_ it, Booth. You might want to kill me now, but trust me. You _want_ to do this."

"Fine, does it have to be with my hands or can I use tongs."

She thought for a few seconds, "Hands, but only because using tongs would be almost cheating. The point of this is to work for it and face your fears."

"I'm not afraid; I just don't want my arm to be chewed off by a man-eating spider."

"You know. Many people are afraid of spiders. Arachnophobia is not something to be ashamed about, Booth."

"Dude, just do it. You won't be sorry. It's my tarantula and I handle it all the time. Trust me when I say it isn't going to hurt you." Jack added. "Dr. B. put a lot of thought into this and I think you need to just go with it. It's so worth it."

"_Fine!_"

Booth walked back over to the coffee table where his son still sat staring into the glass cage. He pulled up his sleeve and removed the watch that covered his destiny tattoo. Very slowly, he opened the door on the top. He shot a glare at Bones and reached slowly into the cage.

When he got down near the object he was to be reaching for, the spider moved slightly towards his hand, "Hodgins…what is your spider doing. He's going to eat my…oh dear God! It's touching me."

"Stop being a baby, Seeley." Rebecca scolded.

"Hodgins, I'm about to reach for my gun and shoot your pet if it doesn't get its hairy legs off if me!"

"He's just feeling you. They don't see very well, but they use touch and scent to explore their surroundings."

"Oh God; he's smelling me?" Booth almost jerked his hand back, but didn't because he didn't want to make the spider think his hand was prey. "What do I smell like, _Charlotte_? Huh. Chicken? Pork? Steak; I bet I smell like steak."

"Well, then maybe it's a good thing it eats mice then." Hodgins said under his breath, thinking no one would hear him.

Booth heard it.

"What? This thing eats something as large as a mouse?"

"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous, Booth. It just paralyzes it and feeds off of the fluids for a few weeks."

"JESUS! Are you trying to make me freak out?"

"You're touching the envelope, why don't you just slowly pull it out?" Angela said.

"Oh, gee, that's sounds like a brilliant idea, Ange, I wish I had thought of that; BUT I CAN'T MOVE OR IT'S GOING TO EAT ME!"

Brennan gave a nod to Jack, and he walked over, stuck his hand into the cage, and guided the spider to crawl onto his hand. He removed the spider and Booth grabbed the envelope. Brennan walked over to Booth. "You did better than I expected. Open, the envelope."

Booth was visibly shaking as he did what he was asked. He opened the envelope and looked inside. He dumped the key that rested inside onto his palm. "What's this?" He opened the small letter that accompanied the key. "_Booth, good job getting over your arachnophobia. Can you do the same for your Coulrophobia?_ BONES! CLOWNS?"

"Ah, you remembered what the fear of clowns was called. That key goes to the closet in the hall. If you want your gift all you have to do is open the door, but I warn you, Seeley Booth. Do not shoot it!" Brennan said poking him in the chest.

Angela hit the play button on the iPod dock and some carnival music started playing over the speakers situated throughout the apartment.

"'Cause that isn't creepy. Thanks," Booth muttered.

Parker danced around following Jack with the spider. "Dad, can we have—"

"Hell no, Parker!" Booth said as he slowly inserted the key into the lock.

"Uh, Agent Booth? Before you open the door, I think you should hand me your gun. We don't need you to get suspended for discharging your weapon at inanimate objects."

"Ha ha, kid; very funny. Here, Bones." Booth unholstered his gun and handed it to his wife, but was confused when she handed him his pocketknife with a three-inch blade. "Oh, so I can't shoot it, but you want me to slash it to death?"

"Just open the door. You'll understand in a minute."

The hall closet, in Booth's opinion, was bigger than any hall closet should be. Seriously, who has a walk-in closet in their hallway? When he opened the door, ten inflatable clowns stood staring at him as the music blared through the apartment.

"Bozo Bop Bags? Jared used to have one of these things. It was bigger than he was, but the little shit would pick it up and chase me with it. It lasted two days before I popped it." Booth laughed, and then noticed a note hanging from the light cord. He grabbed it and read, "_Booth, one of these clowns holds what you are looking for inside. Face your fear a different way and slash through these clowns as you search for the next key._"

"Does that answer your question about the knife?"

"Yep, thanks, Bones. This, I can do. Stand back."

Each clown held a small envelope inside so that he couldn't tell which one held his gift. He slashed through the clowns; each provided a satisfying pop and whoosh of air as they deflated. Eight clowns in, he found the one he was searching for. He opened the envelope and dumped the keys and small note out.

"_Booth, you've done a lot to earn this gift, but there's more work to be done. It won't include facing fears, and it'll take longer than just a few minutes. Jack helped me pick out the perfect one since I had no clue about this sort of thing. Jack has agreed to keep it at his place until we can get a place of our own with space to put it. You will notice that this envelope has two keys. One is to your gift, which Angela should be handing you pictures of right now._" Booth took the pictures and his eyes bugged out as he looked at them and then to Brennan. She smiled and told him to continue. "_The other key is to the garage at Hodgins' estate. Please enjoy this gift. Yes, it was expensive, but I figured if I bought you one that you needed to put in time and work for, then you would be more accepting than if I bought you a new one that already worked. I love you, Bones._"

Booth pocketed the keys and handed the note and pictures to Angela before turning to Brennan and taking her into a grateful hug. "It's perfect, baby. I love it. Thank you for knowing me so well." He kissed her and everyone cheered.

"What'd ya get, dad?" Parker asked.

"Bones got me a red 1968 Shelby GT500 convertible with black interior; it needs to be fixed up a little, but with a little love and hard work, she'll be a real beauty. Bones, I can't believe this! It's perfect."

"Thank Hodgins, too. He really helped me get one he knew you would enjoy."

"Thanks man; I'd kiss you, but you're still holding that spider."

Everyone laughed, and Parker spoke up. "Dad! There's more. I didn't know what to get you, but Angela helped me put together some jokes. So everyone needs to go sit down, and I'll be there in a minute."

Everyone walked back into the living room. Booth sat in the armchair with Bones in his lap, and Cam, Jack, and Angela took couch leaving Sweets and Wendell to sit on the floor and Rebecca standing near the edge of the couch. Angela slapped the back of Jack's head and told him to sit on the floor so Rebecca could sit on the couch. Parker came back out of his room with a piece of paper that he was reading from.

"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to the Seeley Joseph Booth roast of 2010. We're going to start with a few jokes that I think everyone will enjoy. They aren't about my dad, but we'll get to those later. I got these from the wrappers of my Laffy Taffy, which Dr. Bones let me have after my dad said I couldn't have them."

"Bones!"

"What? I didn't know you said he couldn't have them."

"Okay, here's the first one. What did the shoulder say to the arm?"

The crowd was silent as they thought about the question.

"Give up?" Everyone nodded. "How are you hanging?"

Everyone laughed at the cute joke.

"Okay, Dr. Bones should like this one. Why didn't the skeleton climb the mountain?"

Once again, there was a silence. "Give up?" Again, everyone nodded. "Because he didn't have the guts."

Laughter erupted from the woman sitting in Booth's lap as well as everyone else in the room.

"Okay, what do you call a sleepwalking nun?"

"We give up," Cam said after a few moments of silence.

"A roamin' Catholic!"

"Hey, now. No Catholic jokes." Booth chided.

"But dad, it isn't even offensive, and we haven't gotten to the good ones yet. Just sit back and relax."

"You mean there's more?"

"Oh, yeah, and I helped him with the jokes, so they're good!" Angela replied.

"Great," Booth said under his breath, motioning for Parker to continue.

"So, my dad was talking to this Jewish guy, and dad says, _My priest knows more than your Rabbi._ And the guy's reply is, O_f course, he does. You Catholics tell your priests everything_!"

"Parker…"

"Blame Angela!"

More jokes directed toward Booth, the FBI, army, his fear of clowns, and his religion were told over the course of the next several minutes. Several of them followed by Booth threatening to never let Angela help Parker with anything ever again. There were even a few obscure dirty jokes that Parker didn't understand that made Booth and Brennan both blush and everyone else bust out into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

Overall, the night held many blackmail worthy moments.

**B&B**

After everyone had left, Brennan used the Doppler for Parker, just as she had promised. He was disappointed that they couldn't keep the spider. He was also disappointed that his dad had also popped the remaining two clowns. They looked like fun to knock around.

When Parker was tucked into his bed for the night, Booth and Brennan sat up in bed with the Doppler listening to their baby's heartbeat.

"Despite being rudely interrupted this morning, being tortured with spiders and clowns, providing blackmail material that I'll never live down, and then getting roasted by my own kid, this day has been a great one. Thank you." He leaned up to kiss Brennan as he held the Doppler in place.

"You know, it's still your birthday, would you want to continue where we left off earlier today or is junior still under lockdown?"

* * *

**Review, Lovies.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	41. Pops, Clatters, Shatters & Tiny Flutters

**After the week I had, we might be lucky that musie didn't decide to be homicidal and kill Bones' baby. I'm not going to go into detail about all of the shitty things going on in my life except for the one that had the most potential to influence this story. My laptop is a card carrying member of the let's fuck up Jen's life party. As if it isn't bad enough that my power cord is crapping out, MS Word froze up on me yesterday while I was trying to save this chapter. I got pissed off and restarted my computer, but the desktop won't load now, and I have no icons or start menu. I was able to go in through the task manager to save and backup all of my important stuff onto my external hard drive. But of course, when I opened word to see if maybe auto save had managed to salvage everything in this chapter, I was met with the reality that it had not. The last little bit that I had written was brilliant, so naturally I lost that, but thanks to my paranoia, I saved often enough that I didn't lose too much, and I tried to get the end of this chapter back to what it was or as close as possible. I think I succeeded given the circumstances. Suffice it to say, my computer needs an exorcism, so I have taken over my sister's computer for the time being. **

**Luckily, I had enough sense to not try to even touch this story last night after that happened. After a pint of ice cream, some vodka and a little Chartreuse, reading a few really good fluffy fics, and a decent hangover this morning, I've managed to fix this and get it posted now.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

The day after Booth's party, Rebecca offered to take Parker for the weekend so that Booth and Brennan could have some alone time together and it would give her some time with her son. Booth wasn't going to be selfish and deny her what she denied him so often when the role of custodial parent was reversed. Since the whole issue with Brent, they have been amicable and the rapport between them very good. He always wondered in the back of his mind how long that would last, but judging by things so far, they had nothing to worry about.

While Booth and Brennan loved _enjoying_ their alone time, they knew that every time they had this opportunity there was always a huge mess to clean up in their wake. They agreed to try to limit their excursions to three rooms, the bedroom, master bathroom, and they hesitantly agreed on the living room as well. Booth and Brennan made sure to celebrate the arrival of week nineteen the best way they knew how, which was easy given Parker's absence.

The weekend went by too fast for everyone's liking. Jack and Angela made a quick trip to New York City to go to a Broadway show for a date. They offered to make it a double date with Booth and Brennan, but they had politely declined after discussing how much they had done for them already. They also talked about how they needed to start looking at houses, but eventually decided against that idea.

The original plan was to find a house once they got back from their honeymoon so that they could start moving in and have it ready by Thanksgiving. However, with so many events occurring all on top of each other such as the wedding, honeymoon, shooting, Booth's birthday, and then Thanksgiving falling so closely together, the Booths decided that it would be better to hold off until at least after the Babymoon at the beginning of December to start looking though they agreed that because of Christmas and New Year's that they probably wouldn't move until early January when nothing was going on.

Booth could tell that when they decided that this would be best, Brennan was a little disappointed. He thought it was adorable how she couldn't wait to find a place to make theirs, rather than the feeling of hers with a little hint of his added to it. She was eager, but she did understand that the timing just wasn't right.

Cam had taken Michelle shopping most of the weekend looking for a dress for the Winter Formal at her school. Cam offered for Brennan to tag along, and much to her surprise, and Booth's, Brennan accepted the offer to go shopping. As much as she loved spending time with Booth, she was getting tired of not going anywhere but mainly her office at the lab and home. This was her chance to get out of the lab without putting herself in any danger.

The shopping trip was not all that unpleasant. While Brennan secretly liked shopping with Angela, she was thankful the artist wasn't there making her buy all sorts of things that she would never wear, as per what normally happens on their shopping trips. Cam and Michelle gave plenty of opinions of her purchases, but still Brennan didn't end up with more bags than she could carry by herself, as she usually did with Angela.

Tuesday came with more trouble than anyone was really expecting. At his new school, Parker had been running and having fun as the kids all played basketball inside the gym. All of the sudden Parker had a momentary flash from the day the shooting happened as his current surroundings triggered the memory. Someone had dropped a book causing it to land flat on the surface of the floor creating a loud pop, like the crack of a gun going off. The bouncing balls, it didn't matter that they were basketballs instead of dodgeballs. The squeaks of shoes on the gym floor as kids played the game, running from one end of the court to the other, reminding him of the sounds of shoes as kids ran away from Brian. Parker ran as fast as he could off the court and under the bleachers as the flashes went through his mind. He sat tucked into himself under the bleachers, rocking in a manic sort of state.

Even though the PE coaches had been told of the incident and warned that certain conditions could trigger something like this, none of them knew how to handle the situation. Any time anyone would get close to him, he seemed to grow more distant. One of the coaches finally got enough sense that what they were doing wasn't working and he ran down to the principal's office alerting the administrator of the situation. The principal promptly called Booth. When they didn't receive an answer, they called the secondary number listed for a Dr. Temperance Brennan.

Booth and Brennan were sitting in a session with Dr. Sweets when the call made her phone ring out.

"Brennan." She answered.

They filled her in on the situation and asked her if she knew how to get a hold of the boy's father. She told them he was sitting right next to her and that they were on their way.

At seeing the expression on her face change, Booth was automatically on alert. He was already out of his seat when he heard her say that they were on their way.

"Dr. Brennan. You know your phone is supposed to be turned _off_ during these sessions, right?" Sweets asked earning him the death stare of the year.

"This is why we hate your stupid rules, Dr. Sweets. Booth's phone was off, and that was Parker's school."

At hearing Parker's name, both of the other people in the room were instantly hanging on her every word.

"It appears that he is having an episode of some sort, and because Booth actually _followed_ your _stupid_ rule, they couldn't contact him, and it took that much longer to get the word to him. Now, we are leaving right now, and you are coming with us. Let's go."

Her reprimand and disdain for him seemed to grow with each word. Sweets seemed frozen in place, and Booth had to yell, "NOW!" in order to get the young man moving.

Booth ran at practically a full sprint toward the elevator, he pushed the buttons a million times to get it there faster, and when he got frustrated he took off for the stairs knowing at this point that it would be faster if Brennan didn't have to half-waddle run through the parking lot.

"You guys take the elevator, and I'll take the stairs, get the truck and meet you near the door," Booth yelled back behind him as he disappeared into the stairwell.

**B&B**

As they arrived at the gym, they saw Parker sitting on the bleachers being given crackers and juice. He had apparently calmed down and came out of whatever happened to him as they made their journey to the school. He was still staring off into space, and made no real response to his dad and Bones being there.

Sweets was the first one to approach him, at the approval of Booth. The little boy had shown great strength in the days following what happened, and Sweets knew that it was only a matter of time before something happened to indicate any residual effects from the shooting. Booth and Brennan weren't sure what to do, so they agreed that it would be best to put aside their differences and let Sweets talk to Parker first since he was trained in psychology. Even Brennan had to admit that this was an instance in where psychology could be useful.

As the psychologist talked to Parker, Booth and Brennan stood back talking to the coach and principal.

The coaches and a few students relayed the story of what happened to the Booths. They reassured the coaches that they didn't do anything wrong and that they handled it as best they could, given the circumstances. For now, Parker seemed to be doing okay, but the principal told Booth and Brennan that Parker had only responded to questions so far with one word answers, and made no offer to talk to anyone without being asked a question first. Booth asked if they had called Rebecca, and at hearing they had not, he felt like making a scene to ask them why the fuck they hadn't called his _mother_. Instead, he thought better of it, since Parker was around. He whipped his phone out and stepped away from the group to make the call himself.

Just as Booth stepped away to make the call, Sweets motioned for Brennan to approach. She cautiously walked over to Parker and Sweets.

"Dr. Brennan, I've asked him a couple of questions, but he keeps saying you name. I think maybe he wants you to be here with him."

"I'm here, Parker." She said as she sat next the boy on the bleachers.

"Parker, Dr. Brennan is here now. Can you answer my questions? She won't let anything happen to you."

"I really won't; I'll be right here the whole time."

Parker nodded and took a sip of the juice he was given earlier.

"Can you tell us what happened?"

**B&B**

"Da-ad! I'm fine now. See?" Parker stood in front of his dad as he tried to usher him from the main office of the school toward the SUV. "Can't I stay? I have science next!"

"Parker, you just had some kind of mental breakdown and freaked everyone out; I think it's time for you to go home. You can come back tomorrow."

"Agent Booth," Sweets started as he trailed behind with Brennan. "That's not true. He didn't have a mental breakdown. I think he is fine to stay as long as he stays away from the gym for the foreseeable future."

"Parker, get in the car." Hearing his dad's tone of voice, he complied. "Listen, _Dr. Sweets_, Parker just had flashes from a very traumatizing event and his mind shut down temporarily at the memories. What do you call it if it isn't a mental breakdown?"

"I—uh, there's no real medical definition for a mental breakdown, but he did experience some anxiety and a temporary disassociation from reality."

"Is that all it was? A_ temporary_ disassociation from reality?"

Sweets ignored Booth and continued. "As long as we increase his sessions to two times a week, I think that we can get through this without disrupting his daily life too much. He needs to keep his daily routine. I suggested to the principal and coaches that Parker be taken out of PE for the time being. They have agreed and I don't see any other reason to not keep him here for the rest of the day."

"Look, this is just for today; he can go back tomorrow. Just—it's more for me than it is for him, okay. He's coming home with me. You don't have kids, so you don't understand."

"Alright, fine." Sweets said, backing down. There was no way he was going to stand in Booth's way after that particularly telling admission that it was more for _him_ than it was for Parker.

All of the adults got into the vehicle and as Booth drove away, he heard Brennan's soft admission, "I find that I would prefer he spend the rest of the day with us, as well."

Booth reached across the center console and took Brennan's hand into his and brought it to his lips for a soft kiss.

**B&B**

By the time came around for the family to all go to their martial arts classes together, Parker had completely returned to him normal enthusiastic hyperactive self. The next day, Parker had a session with Sweets. They didn't openly discuss the incident as much as they discussed the changes that would be made to his daily routine at his new school to prevent it from happening again. There would be no PE. Instead of going to PE with the rest of his class he will be going to the office to help out as an office aid of sorts. Parker's teachers would receive training for how to handle another episode, should one happen.

The next few days at school had gone smoothly. Parker felt special for getting to help in the office. He sometimes got to run the copy machine and took notes to teachers in their classrooms. He even got to play pinball on one of the computers when there was nothing for him to do. The other kids who witnessed the event were great about it, too. They had all been counseled about what happened and what to do if they see it happen again. At first, Parker was sure that they were going to make fun of him for what happened, but all of the kids really did seem to understand that it wasn't something that he could have controlled and it isn't really something that makes him so different that they would reject him in anyway. They all liked Parker from day one, and this didn't change how most of them perceived him.

**B&B**

Thursday afternoon at the lab, everyone was busy sifting through evidence in a vat of paint where a body had been found.

Brennan came out of her office upon finishing her email correspondence and some paperwork regarding a body from bone storage. She saw the commotion of people using sifters and tongs to remove particulates and body parts from the oozing substance.

There was no way she was going to miss out on the action of this! She gloved up, swiped her card and bounded up the stairs to the platform with a surprising amount of grace and enthusiasm, and grabbed a strainer and started to search for whatever she could find.

A few minutes pass by, as some people stare at her, knowing that either Cam was going to come in there and get krunk with everyone for allowing Brennan around the paint or that Booth would walk in looking for news on what they found only to shoot anyone who witnessed her being there and not doing anything about it.

"Dr. Brennan should you be up here?" Wendell finally got the nerve to ask, concerned by her being in such a close proximity with the fumes of the paint as much as he was concerned about the wrath of Cam or Booth.

"Mr. Bray, while the odor of the paint is unpleasant, it appears to be a water-based paint and therefore is not emitting any toxic fumes. I am fine."

"Okay fine. Dr. Saroyan just practically ordered us to keep you away from here." He mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Dr. Saroyan wanted us to keep you away from this one." He replied quickly. He stood back and watched her carefully as she sifted through the paint.

"Well, if she has a problem with it, she should come tell me, personally. Until then, I'm fine to do this."

She was up there for almost an hour before she felt someone touch her shoulder without saying anything, causing her to startle slightly (understatement of the century). She reached behind her with one arm as she shifted her weight and turned to knee the offender in the groin before bringing him to the ground with the arm she had grabbed and shoved up behind his back.

As this happened she knocked into one of the containers holding some of the paint causing it to tumble over and spill as well as hitting a tray of lab tools which went flying and causing a clatter as the metal tools hit various places on the floor. The spillage from the container caused the alarms to go off, as the man being held down called her name and tried in vain to escape her grasp.

Only after a few seconds did she realize what she had done.

"Son-of-a-bitch! What the—ah, Bones! BONES! GET OFF OF ME!"

"Oh, no!" She released her death grip from his wrist allowing him to have his arm back. "Booth?"

"I think you dislocated my shoulder! Dear God, Bones. What did I do? I swear I put the toilet seat back down!"

"I am _so _sorry, Booth. Honest, I didn't mean to—are you okay?"

"Am I okay? Bones, you broke me! My arm might as well fall off and I think the family jewels have been obliterated. I hope you don't want any more kids."

"Stop being a baby. Come here; let me see your shoulder." She turned him and palpated along his shoulder. "Your shoulder's fine. You shouldn't have scared me!" She yelled over the alarms that were still blaring.

"Are you okay? You didn't overexert yourself as you tried to kill me did you?"

"I'll be fine once my heart rate returns to normal."

Cam had come out of her office just in time to see it all happen almost in slow motion right as it happened. She was working on getting the alarms shut off, since the substance was not a threat. Once that was accomplished, she started everyone on the cleanup procedure.

Brennan spent the rest of her day banned from the lab and restricted to her office. She wasn't even permitted to go down to bone storage, not even when she tried to claim one of her freebies.

Booth left the lab as soon as the doors of the lab unsealed because he was needed at the Hoover. He was slightly pissed off that his wife took him down with no warning, but ultimately he realized that he had given no warning of who he was when he snuck up on her and touched her shoulder. He knew she hated that, and within an hour, he was no longer mad.

On the way home, he stopped to pick up a bouquet of daffodils and a box of chocolate covered peanut butter, her current favorite treat.

She was home when he got there, and he could smell his favorite food cooking in the kitchen.

"Mac and Cheese! What's the occasion" he asked, knowing it was her way of apologizing.

"Oh, nothing big. I was very mean to a man today, and I was hoping to feed him his favorite food to distract him from the fact that he's probably very mad at me."

"I'm not mad anymore."

"You're not?"

"Hmm," he pretended to think, "nope." He then presented her with the candy and flowers.

She smiled and apologized again, and he apologized for sneaking up on her.

**B&B**

The next morning Booth woke up to the sound of something shattering somewhere in the apartment. He leapt from the bed and ran from the room. As soon as he opened the door, he heard Brennan yell.

"PARKER, STOP!"

Booth ran through the apartment and saw his son frozen at the entrance into the kitchen and his wife standing frozen in the kitchen with her hands clutching her abdomen. "What's wrong, Bones?" When he made a move to step into the kitchen he was greeted with the same yell.

"STOP! Just, stop. Don't come in here. I dropped the coffee mug and it shattered into a million pieces on the floor." She looked around before coming up with a plan.

"What wrong?"

She ignored his question after noticing his appearance. "Booth? Why are you naked?" She asked as she gracefully maneuvered herself up onto the counter and scooted as far to the entrance of the kitchen as she could.

"Why am I naked? Maybe because I was worried! I didn't know what was going on out here. I wasn't going to waste time by putting on my underwear. Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong? Parker, go get me some boxers."

"Yes, dad. Be careful, Dr. Bones." He ran to the bedroom to grab something for Booth to put on.

"Booth, can you help me? I'm going to jump to you, okay?"

"_Daaaad? Do you want the ones with the Hot Wheels?_"

He thought for a moment, "Yes, that's fine." He yelled back, and then added, "but they aren't Hot Wheels it's NASCAR!" He turned his attention back to Brennan. "Are you ready?" He motioned for her to jump to him.

"Alright, I'm ready. Here I come."

She jumped and he swung her into his arms and away from the kitchen floor. "Nothing's wrong, Booth. Everything is perfect," she said softly, still clinging to him as Parker returned with Booth's boxers.

After he pulled his boxers on, he noticed she had tears in her eyes. "Ah, Bones, don't cry it was just a mug. We have others."

"That isn't it." She grabbed Booth's hand and pulled it to her abdomen. "I felt him, Booth. I felt him move."

Parker gasped, "Hey! Can I feel, too?"

"Yes, come here." She guided his hand and pressed where she had felt the movement. "I don't know if you guys can feel it from the outside yet, but he startled me and I dropped the cup. He must be related to _someone_ I know." Brennan gave Booth a pointed look.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!"

Brennan smiled again, "I just felt him move again, can you feel it, too?"

"I felt that!" Booth beamed.

"Me too!" Parker said enthusiastically.

They stood there for a little bit before deciding they needed to get moving so that they weren't all late.

"Booth, can you clean up the mess, please? I have to call Angela. She's been asking me ever since we found out I'm pregnant if I could feel anything yet."

* * *

**Thank you all who read and review. Every message received means so much, and is vital to let me know what you are thinking. So review, lovies, and let me know what you think. **

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	42. The Importance of a Name

**Sorry for the delays in getting this one out. I've had bronchitis on top of computer problems. My computer is fixed for now; I even have a new power cord! **

**I was hoping to have this posted yesterday, but ended up drinking too many vodka sours at a friend's house. I didn't think it would have been a good idea to proof this without being sober, but you can thank the alcohol for the addition of the tiny bit of smut in the chapter. :)**

**I promise that I will try not to take two weeks to update next time.**

* * *

_**20 weeks and five days**_

"He isn't going to move on demand, Ange. I'm sorry he hasn't moved for you any time you've tried to feel him; it isn't like I can control it."

"I know, Sweetie. I'm just disappointed. It's been six days since you called me that morning to tell me that you could finally feel him. I just thought that I would have been able to feel it by now, too. Booth and Parker have felt it."

"Daisy and Sweets did, too. Yesterday."

"Okay, I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Angela bent down toward Brennan's stomach and whispered conspiratorially, "Listen here, kid. This is your aunt Angela, and I would very much like to feel you move. You cannot possibly know how long I've waited for this moment."

Booth and Jack entered Brennan's apartment with Parker following closely behind.

"Are we going to watch football?" Parker asked his dad.

"Yeah, buddy. I just gotta get this cranberry sauce to Bones first. Go ahead and turn the TV on, and I'll be back in a minute."

"Ange? When's dinner?"

"Not my kitchen Jack. Ask Bren."

"Dr. B, when is—"

"It'll be done when it's done, which is redundant, but true. It'll be done faster if we don't have anyone in here bugging us, bug-man." Booth handed her the can of cranberry sauce that he had forgotten to get when he went to the store to pick up everything they would need for their Thanksgiving dinner. "Thanks, Booth," she said before giving him a loving kiss for braving the madness of the only store that seemed to be open in DC.

Booth and Brennan had discussed going to see Russ and his family for Thanksgiving, but decided against it considering things had been so busy for them at home. They figured it would be nice to just have a relaxing holiday at home with their close friends.

They invited everyone, but only Jack and Angela were able to come. Sweets and Daisy were going to Kansas to see her family. Cam and Michelle were going to New York to visit Cam's father. Jared and Padme were doing their own thing. They didn't know what Max had planned to do this Thanksgiving; he didn't offer much of an explanation for turning down the invite. Russ and his family were also invited, but they were beyond the point of safe travel for Amy. She was thirty-eight weeks along in her pregnancy now, and she was told to stay close and expect the arrival any day now. That ultimately was another reason Booth and Brennan didn't go there. Amy didn't need the stress of the holiday placed on her any more than it probably already was.

"Why don't you guys just get on out of here, and it'll be done that much quicker since you aren't in here distracting us." Angela told them.

"Maybe I like my distraction, Angela." Brennan said with a saucy grin.

"I like being your distraction, but we have guests, Bones. Let's not give them a free peep show, huh? I'll just be in there watching the game. Holler if you need help with anything."

"I'll call you in here when it's time to lift the large yard bird out of the oven. Hey! Wait! Uh, could you grab my phone out of the bedroom? I want to call Russ."

"Sure thing, baby."

"Ange, on Monday, I have to get the glucose tolerance test done, and Booth cannot go with me to the appointment because he is having to testify in court for a case. Do you think you could go with me? From what I know, the test is going to take around three hours complete."

"Absolutely, Bren. I'll let Cam know that I won't be in until that afternoon."

Brennan started putting marshmallows on top of the sweet potatoes and poured French fried onions on top of the green bean casserole before opening the can of cranberry sauce. When she was done doing that, she picked off a few marshmallows and ate them. She was reaching for another when Angela stopped her.

"Bren, Sweetie." She smiled sweetly to show that she meant well, and didn't want to be offensive. "If you eat all of the marshmallows there isn't going to be any for anyone else. I'll just put this in the oven now. Go find something else to snack on."

"It can't go in yet; the turkey isn't out."

"I think it's done by now. The little pop up thingy is sticking up, and it smells heavenly."

"I does smell good." Brennan said savoring the smell. Brennan had discovered that while she was pregnant, her olfactory senses seemed to have been enhanced. "Booth!" she hollered.

"What? I'm right here. I didn't take that long to find your phone; did I?"

"Oh, no. The turkey is done. I need you to get it out so that Angela can put the sweet potatoes and green bean casserole in the oven."

"Yeah, because apparently, you cannot let anything just sit on the counter within reach of Temperance Booth these days. Nothing seems to be safe."

"You know, Ange. If I had said that, I would be sleeping on the couch for the next week."

"Hey, it's the truth; she just ate half of the marshmallows." Ange defended herself with a laugh.

"I don't doubt that. The baby loves food, apparently. That's no secret around here." Booth added with a teasing tone as he grabbed the potholders and opened the oven to get the turkey out. He placed it on top of the counter where Brennan had cleared a space.

He took the heavy glass casserole dish of sweet potatoes from Brennan and placed it on the rack in the oven, and then did the same with the dish that Angela held.

"Anything else you want me to do, Bones?"

"No."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to stress yourself out too much." Booth said softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him. He rested his forehead on hers and rubbed his hands over the sides of her belly.

"I'm fine. There isn't that much left to do. All that needs to be done is heat a few things up. All the hard work is done. I have a carving knife in that drawer over there. Will you check the blade? It may need sharpened. Dad used it last year and mentioned something about that."

"This drawer?"

"Yes."

"Oh, here it is. Do you have a sharpener?"

"Same drawer. It's the steel rod." Booth held something up. "No," he searched some more before pulling out another object. "Yeah, that."

"So how much longer on everything else?" Booth asked.

"About twenty minutes." Angela said looking to her friend who nodded in agreement.

Booth sharpened the knife and then went back to the football game and relayed the information about the time remaining until dinner.

**B&B**

After dinner, everyone found a comfortable place in the living room to spread out and lounge around. Parker was watching Despicable Me on the TV and the adults were just enjoying being lazy and thankful to have had the time to spend together as a _family_.

With as much time as they already spend together, it is rarely in this capacity where there is no work or anything else involved, limiting their actual personal time together. It was nice.

Brennan was on the verge of falling asleep when Booth nudged her. "Baby?"

Brennan startled slightly, but recovered quickly upon feeling the warmth of his body that she was using as a giant firm body pillow.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, and thanks for not kicking my ass this time."

Jack and Angela heard that part of the conversation and looked at each other as they tried to keep control and not just laugh outright at the reminder of last week's comic event on the platform.

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?" She asked.

"Just like I'm sure I'll never live down my pregnant wife getting the take on me." He replied.

"Oh, you'll never forget about that one, because we won't let you g-man." Angela added, finally not being able to control her laughter.

"You know, I'm not above kicking these people out of our home. Are you Bones?"

"No. Especially since I know she's mostly laughing about how much _I_ freaked out and not just about you getting taken down by a pregnant woman."

"Hey, we haven't even had desert, yet!" Jack complained.

"Jack! You cannot possibly have any room. None of us should have any room to eat anything else for like forty years." Angela elbowed him as she spoke.

"Speak for yourself," Brennan said as she shot up off up Booth and the couch with surprising agility. "I want pumpkin pie!"

"Right behind ya, Bones!" Booth said as he launched up off the couch as well, with Parker hot on his heels after he paused the movie.

"You know, that family has garbage disposal guts," Jack observed.

"Yeah, you would not believe what all Bren ate at the diner yesterday. She ate more than Booth did, and I thought he was going for a personal best. She better be careful or her cute little ass isn't going to be so cute and little anymore."

"Just keep that thought to yourself. No need to put her in a bad mood."

"Agreed."

Brennan came back into the living room with a giant piece of pumpkin pie with a huge dollop of whipped cream on top.

Booth followed back not too long after. "Bones, I think that maybe the eating has gotten out of hand."

Jack and Angela looked at each other. Oh, man. This conversation was likely to end very badly for their favorite FBI agent.

"How so?" She asked shortly, the fire already in her eyes.

Not good!

"Bones, I had to stop you from taking almost half of the pie. A nine-inch pie! Almost half! That's ridiculous! Even for me, it would have been absurd. I'm not looking to earning myself a night on the couch. I'm just saying that I'm concerned."

"Concerned that I won't be that sexy scientist anymore? Are you saying that I'm getting fat?" She asked raising her voice.

"I just don't want you to develop health issues associated with all of the extra intake. I read that gaining too much weight during pregnancy could be just as bad as not gaining enough. I'm just worried about you, okay?"

She stared into his eyes, and finally after seeing that he wasn't being mean and that he was just concerned, she nodded and apologized to him.

Angela and Jack sat there, wide-eyed. They thought for sure they would be dodging flying objects and shrapnel by now. The effect that man has on their good friend was clearly evident. The woman of seven years ago would have taken his gun and shot him with it. Then again, the woman of seven years ago wouldn't be his pregnant wife either.

Brennan finished what she could of her large piece of pie. "I guess maybe I did get too much." She placed her plate on the coffee table and snuggled in closer to Booth's side.

"Do you guys want to play a few rounds of Spades?" Booth asked as he finished the last of his piece and then reached for the rest of hers.

No one got the chance to answer, as Booth's phone rang. He groaned hoping like Hell that he didn't have to go to a crime scene. He dug it out of his back pocket and looked at the ID.

Russ.

"Bones, did you call Russ earlier?"

"No," she replied. "I forgot. I got caught up with making sure everything was ready and then it was time to pull things out of the oven. Is that Russ?"

"Yeah." He answered her. "Booth," he said into the phone after flipping it open.

"_Hey, is Tempe there? She isn't answering her phone_."

"Uh, yeah. She's right here." He held the phone out to her. "It's for you. He said he called your phone a few times first, but there was no answer."

"The battery may be dead." She said after thinking about why she hadn't even heard her phone ringing in the first place. It was sitting right on top on the coffee table. Everyone would have heard it. She brought Booth's phone to her ear. "Hi, Russ." She reached over, grabbed her phone, and discovered that the battery was in fact dead.

"_Tempe! Are you having a good day?_"

Brennan could tell from the tone in his voice that he was very excited about something.

"Yes. Today has been very enjoyable. You sound like your day has been good as well."

"_Yes! Tempe, Amy just had our baby! He's a perfect little boy!_"

"Russ, that's great! Have you told dad?"

"_He's here, actually._"

"Dad's there with you? Did he spend the day with you guys?"

"_No, he was visiting a friend about an hour away from here._"

"A friend? Who would dad know over there?"

"_No clue. I didn't ask. I learned not to a long time ago._"

"Point taken. How's Amy?"

"She's _great, Tempe. She's been through this before, though. It's me who is the nutcase right now. I swear, I thought she was going to have to drive herself to the hospital._"

"And the girls?"

"_Excited. Bummed that it's a boy, but they're still excited._"

"Does he have a name yet?"

"_Lucas James Brennan, but we'll call him Luke._"

"That's a beautiful name, Russ."

She looked up to see Booth's questioning smile after hearing her side of the conversation; she decided she should let everyone else in. "Russ, hold on. Everyone's staring at me; I think maybe they would like me to tell them what's going on."

"_Hey, I need to get back to Amy anyway. I'll just let you go. Tell everyone I said hi and everyone here is doing great. I love you, Tempe._"

"Text us some pictures."

"_Sure thing, but charge your phone!_"

"Alright. I love you, Russ. Bye."

"_Bye._"

Brennan shut Booth's phone and handed it to him.

"Amy had her baby today. Lucas James Brennan is his name. Russ said everyone's doing great."

"How much did he weigh and how long was he?" Angela asked.

"I don't know, he didn't say. He needed to get back to Amy though. I'll text him and ask later. He is going to send us pictures. I just need to go put my phone on the charger."

Brennan stood and a firm kick to her ribs startled her sending her phone to the rug.

Everyone looked at her.

"You would think that after a week of that, I would be used to it. Angela, come here; he may do it again."

Sure enough right after Brennan guided her hand to where she felt the first jab, Angela felt it as well. After crooning over the tiny movement, Angela reached down to pick up the phone that had been dropped to the floor and handed it to Brennan to go put it on the charger.

"Hey, Dr. B? Have you guys thought about names yet?" Hodgins asked as he took a sip of his wine.

"Not really. We have time to think. Names are important."

"Yeah, he'll have it the rest of his life. We don't want him to resent his name like we did ours. You don't know how much I hated having my name growing up. I'm named after my grandfather on my mom's side, and that's cool and all, but kids always said Seeley is a girly name."

"And Temperance is not my given name, and it is unusual enough that I got made fun of for it. Though, I'm not sure Joy would have been much better."

"Well, what about…" Angela thought for a few moments before throwing a few names out there. "Sydney, Jordan, Dylan, Jacob, Charlie, Max, Matthew—"

"Some of those are really good names, Ange, but I'm not going to name my child after my father. We will take the others into consideration."

"Parker's middle name is Matthew, so that one's out and I agree. I don't want to name our boy after Bones' father. I do like Dylan."

"It's a good name, but I don't know. We still have a lot of time to decide. I just really want to get this right."

"Oh! How about Patrick, Derek, Jude, John, Joshua, Tyler…" Angela kept listing names. She didn't notice Booth's jaw tense up. After a few seconds, he couldn't stand it anymore and he stood up and walked into the kitchen to get a beer to avoid going off on Angela. He was gone for a few minutes.

Angela told Brennan to go see what was wrong.

She didn't think anything was wrong, but she went anyway.

When she stepped into the kitchen, Booth had his back turned away from her and he had both hands braced on the counter in front of him. He was slouched over, and now it was clear to her that something was bothering him, but she could figure it out for the life of her. Today had been a fantastic day of family and friends and new life. They were discussing a happy event, so what was his problem?

"Booth?"

"We are NOT naming our child John." He said dangerously, without turning around.

"I don't understand what's wrong with that?"

"Of course not. You didn't go your whole life sharing part of the name of one of the most notorious assassins in history. The last thing our child needs beyond that and sharing the same lineage is to share the man's first name as well."

Then it hit her. John Wilkes Booth. Angela had hit a nerve, and hadn't even realized it. Brennan didn't even catch it.

"Okay, John is out. There will be no John." She moved closer, admiring his frame from behind as he was still turned around. The position he was standing in, while slouched, was very flattering to his physique. Brennan's hormonal mind was on alert.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to react like that. I just don't want our child to have problems with our heritage, and to have problems with his name. Parker got a good name. It means something and is sentimental to me. I don't necessarily want to name our child after anyone, but I want him to have a good name."

"What about Joseph?"

Booth turned around at the question.

"My middle name?" Booth asked with his eyebrows raised. He took a sip of his beer.

"Yes."

"It's a good name. Joey for short. It's a good kid's name. When he's older and pickier he can go by Joseph. It's sophisticated."

"It's also Biblical. Is that alright with you?"He asked. He didn't want her to resent the Biblical connection.

"Yes. It's a good name." She replied sternly. It appeared that she had her mind set on Joseph. Whether it was in honor of him, he didn't know, but the determination in her eyes gave him reason enough to consent.

"Okay. Joseph. Little Joey."

"Baby Joey. Is this one of those things that is just ours or should we tell people?" She asked him.

"We should tell them. We still need to figure out a middle name. That, when we figure it out, can be a secret."

"Okay." She agreed with him, and gave in to her desire to touch him and kiss him.

**B&B**

Booth and Brennan had been in that kitchen for a very long time. Parker was still occupied by his movie, but their guests we snickering at the thought that they had been gone for a while and they hadn't really heard the loud booming voice of Booth like they had expected to. Angela, not shy at all, decided to go check it out for herself. She was certain they wouldn't go _that_ far in a public part of the apartment with guests there and their son in the next room.

She was nearly wrong. Five minutes later and that was exactly what would have happened.

"Bren!" she exclaimed at walking into the kitchen to find her best friend with clothes in disarray practically mauling her husband. The two froze in their tracks after hearing Angela's voice. Brennan's shirt was completely off and she stood there in her bra, and the skirt she was wearing had been pulled up and she could see Booth's hand groping her ass underneath her panties. The buttons on Booth's shirt had been undone and Brennan was just about to slide her hand down to work on his pants when Angela walked in. "Sweetie, as hot as this looks. You still have guests, and little Booth is in the next room."

They both took deep calming breaths to get some much-needed oxygen. Booth removed his hand from her rear and rubbed circles on her back trying to calm her down a little. He rested his forehead on hers gazing into her eyes. Then all of the sudden they bust out into laughter at their situation.

"Ange, can you give us a minute?" Booth asked, hating the crack in his voice.

Angela eyed Booth's exposed chest, openly. "Sure thing, Sexy! Good Lord, Bren. You are a lucky woman."

Brennan let out another breath after Angela left the room. "I know." Brennan said under her breath. Booth heard it, whether she intended for him to or not. Brennan quickly redressed and fixed her hair, and went back into the living room with the only evidence of their interactions being her flushed face and swollen lips. Booth took a little longer to get control of himself.

Eventually, he was back in the living room as well. He looked at Jack and Angela with a guilty shrug and they all laughed hysterically at being caught. Parker shushed them for being too loud.

Brennan checked her phone to discover that five pictures had been sent to her. She quickly sent them to her email so that she could view them better on her computer and so that it would be easier for everyone else to see as well.

The first picture was of a still slimy just freshly birthed naked baby boy being held up for the camera. The second picture was of the baby being placed into Amy's arms with Russ getting ready to cut the cord. The third was of the proud father and his new baby boy. The fourth was just of Amy and the baby. The fifth was a picture of Russ, Amy, the girls, and the baby.

After awing over the pictures, Jack and Angela decided it was time to head home. Parker had fallen asleep during the last few minutes of the movie and didn't even see the pictures because he had conked out first.

Booth carried Parker to the bed, and then headed to the kitchen to help Bones with the clean up. They had used mostly disposable dishes, so the cleanup wasn't that bad. There weren't very many dishes to be done. Just a lot of trash to take out to the dumpster and a few leftovers to put away. They quickly gathered the trash and closed up the bags. Booth picked both up, intending to take them both, but Brennan insisted on helping. He held up both of the bags, weighing them and comparing. He handed her the lighter bag, which freed up one of his hands to hold one of hers as they walked down to the alley together.

"How did Joey treat mommy today?" He asked when they were returning to the apartment.

"Aside from squishing mommy's bladder and kick-boxing her ribs? Good."

"Well, what do you say mommy and daddy continue where they left off earlier?" He whispered right next to her ear.

It sent shivers down her spine that settled immediately between her legs. The thought of finally getting what she felt was robbed from her earlier cause her to grab his hand and pull him to their room, locking the door behind them.

The second the door closed, she was latched to his mouth already threatening to rip his clothes away if the buttons didn't cooperate. She freed him of his shirt and pants rather quickly, and she was freed of her shirt and bra as well. He was pulling her skirt and panties down her long legs. She stepped out and went for his boxers. They fell to the floor once she pulled them passed his hips and his thighs.

For reasons unknown to him, every one of her nerves seemed to be lit aflame tonight. She couldn't get enough of him quickly enough, and he knew this wasn't going to be one of their more tender loving moments. It was going to be full of love, but it was going to be raw, passionate, unrestrained love. It was going to be far too good, but over far too quickly.

She was a flurry of tongue and teeth as her mouth and hands roved and marked her territory. He tried to slow her down a little to make it last a little longer than it would if they kept going at the pace they were now. He was marginally successful as he made the effort to move her from up against the wall to the bed.

They didn't quite make it to the bed, but instead the old cedar chest with a cushioned seat on the lid that was placed at the end of their bed.

He edged her down gently marking his own trail across the voluptuous curves of her breasts. His tongue swiped across her nipple and seemed to send her into hyper-drive. She moaned his name, pleaded for him to give her what she wanted desperately, but he had a different plan. He trailed his mouth down from her heaving chest down and immediately found her hot wet core that she gave him very open access to. He swiped his tongue along the slit before taking her clit into his mouth and sucking for a brief time. He slid one of his index fingers inside her, curled his finger up, and with a few swipes of her g-spot and the sucking pressure he kept on her, she trembled in several small orgasms.

She started to let out small wails of excitement; Booth had to ease off in order to calm her down and not risk waking Parker up. The slight reprieve really seemed to tick her off because as soon as she was starting to get impatient with the gentle strokes of this fingers and tongue, she grabbed his hair and pulled him up to her and kissed him hard before looking him directly into the eyes telling him that he couldn't delay giving her what she wanted any longer.

The taste and scent of herself on his face brought her blood to boiling point. She reached down, grabbed onto him, and positioned him at her entrance and he promptly thrust deep inside of her, pulling a rough groan from both of them.

The ridge on the edge of the cedar chest was digging into her back, but she couldn't bring herself to care at the moment. He drove deep and fast into her as he kneaded the material of her breasts in his hands. Once again, her body was overcome by small tremors and when he couldn't hold on any longer he slammed one last time into her really hard and still as he exploded inside of her with her inner walls convulsing and fluids flooding around him as well.

When he could stand, he scooped her up and laid her on the bed. Then he didn't have the energy to walk around the bed to get into his side, so he climbed over her and rolled into his spot. When he was settled she cuddled into his side, told him she loved him, and fell asleep almost instantly. Booth took a little longer to fall asleep. He traced patterns onto her bare back with his fingers, and placed light kisses on the crown of her head before drifting off himself.

**B&B**

_**21 weeks and 2 days**_

Monday morning Angela came to get Brennan for her appointment very early. She got there before Booth left for the Hoover.

Today, Brennan would have the glucose tolerance test. She was told not to relieve herself when she woke up that morning. Being pregnant and not being able to go pee the first thing in the morning was like torture, but thankfully the appointment was first thing in the morning and Angela got there early to get her there in a reasonable time.

When she arrived, she signed in and was handed a cup to go pee in. She was thankful that she could at least get that out of the way immediately. Once she was done, she was told to leave the cup on the shelf and then go back out into the waiting room.

It wasn't long before the lab tech came to get Brennan for her first round of blood tests. After her blood was drawn, they took some measurements of her abdomen and her weight. Then, she was given a drink high in sugar that tasted like fruit punch, vaguely. It was too sweet for her taste, but she had to drink it. She was also told that if she needed to drink some water she could, because she would have to submit another urine sample in half an hour.

She went back to the waiting room with Angela and consumed the drink that she was sure Parker wouldn't even like.

"Booth and I decided on a first name." She finally told her friend.

"You did? What did you choose?"

"Joseph. Joey for short."

"That's a precious name. Isn't that Booth's middle name?"

"Yes."

"So, care to fill me in on what happened in the kitchen on Thanksgiving? You know, before you started mauling each other."

Brennan put down the magazine she was absently flipping through to see if anything caught her eyes.

"Well, you were right; he was upset, but I don't know if I should tell you. I feel like he probably wouldn't want me to say anything."

"Aw, come on, Bren. I won't say anything."

"I know, but he wouldn't want you to feel bad about it."

"Why would I feel bad? Unless I said something that upset him."

"It isn't your fault, you didn't mean to. You didn't know. I didn't even realize until he told me."

"Bren, what did I say? I need to know so I don't say it again."

"I suppose that is a logical reason…okay. When you were suggesting names, one of the ones you suggested was John."

"Okay…but I don't see where that would make him upset."

"Temperance?" A woman came out from the back to take her back to get another blood and urine sample.

"I'll be right back, Ange."

"It's okay; I'll be here.

They drew her blood and took her urine sample. They gave her some more water and told her they would come get her for more samples in another half an hour.

"Okay, what did you ask me again?" Brennan asked Angela as she sat back down in the uncomfortable waiting room chair.

"You were going to tell me why the name John upset Booth."

"Right. Ange, did you know that Booth is related to John Wilkes Booth?"

"_The_ John Wilkes Booth? The one that assassinated Abe Lincoln?"

"Is there another?"

"No, Sweetie. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around that. I guess I never made that connection. Maybe being a sharp-shooter is in the genes, huh?"

"Ange..." Brennan said in a warning tone. "I would advise against saying anything like that in front of Booth."

"Oh, don't worry; I won't be opening that can of worms again. Does he totally hate me for suggesting that you guys name your child after a famous assassin?"

"You didn't know. He knows you didn't do it on purpose. He isn't upset anymore. We solved that problem by picking Joseph. We haven't picked a middle name yet, but when we do it will stay a secret until his birth."

"I can't believe you're over halfway through the pregnancy already."

"Just barely, and I can't believe it either. Although, Amy assured me that now that my stomach is big enough to get in the way and cause me problems with balance, back pain, and other issues, time will seem to drag by as I wait for him to finally be born."

"I can see where the discomfort and inconvenience would get old really quickly and make you look forward to being able to move like a normal human being again."

"Booth shaved my legs for me yesterday, Ange. I could reach, but not comfortably, so he offered."

"That's so sweet." Angela said with a sigh.

Angela looked over to her silent friend and noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Aw, Bren, Sweetie. Look at you, all hormonal and cute, "Angela said pulling her friend into her side for a hug.

"Sorry, I can't help it. He just does all of these little things, and I feel like I don't do enough to show him how much I appreciate him and love him for all that he does for me."

"Bren, he knows. Trust me; he fell in love with you for who you are. He wouldn't want you to turn into some idealized version of yourself."

"I know." Brennan said, trying to wipe her cheeks free of the tears.

The lab tech came out from the back once more, "Temperance, we're ready for you again."

Brennan went back to give more samples. After that, she gave three more samples before they were done with here. They told her they would call her with the results sometime in the next couple of days.

* * *

**So, what will the results of the test be? Any guesses?**

**Thank you in advance for your kind reviews, and to whoever the 500****th**** review goes to. Exciting milestone.**

**I also just posted the 5th chapter of "She Isn't Enough" if you're interested.  
**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	43. Nothing's Wrong, Just Complicated

After Brennan's doctor appointment, her and Angela went to the diner to get lunch before heading into the office.

Brennan tried to order a plate of French fries and a chocolate milkshake before Angela scolded her.

"Brennan! Did you listen to a word the doctor told you? You cannot just get the milkshake full of sugar and the fries that are pure starch that breaks down into nothing but more sugar."

"I know how it works, Angela, but I'm hungry. This one time won't hurt me. He gave me a prescription for a medicine that will help."

"That hasn't been filled yet. Sweetie, you have gestational diabetes. This is serious. You need to be more careful about what you put into your body." Angela turned toward the waitress, who was still standing there waiting to take their order. "Julie, could you give us a moment. I need to help my friend make a healthy decision. We'll call you over when I've convinced her to not poison herself with too much sugar."

"Angela, I can take care of myself."

"Doctor Matthews said that you have to be more conscious of your glucose intake. He said you should maintain a high fiber, high protein diet and avoid starches, pastas, bread, and—"

"Just this one last heavenly plate of fries and then no more, okay?"

"No, not okay." Brennan furrowed her brows in indignation towards Angela. "I'll call Booth!" Angela threatened.

"No. Booth can't know. He'll never let me have another meal by myself! He was already hounding me about eating too much. He thinks I'm getting fat."

Angela laughed inwardly about how childish her rational, logical, empirical best friend was being right now.

"No he doesn't. He thinks you're the sexiest woman on the planet. Would he ravish your temple of a body with friends and his son in the next room if he didn't think so?"

Brennan had to admit that Angela had her there. She shrugged and pouted.

She figured, if Booth really didn't find her sexy, he wouldn't touch her. She was being silly; she knew that, but having received the news of her gestational diabetes earlier this morning, had her feeling like maybe there was something wrong with her.

_When the doctor had asked her about her usual diet, she had told him that she had temporarily given up her vegetarian lifestyle, which he agreed was probably for the best. The supplements he had given her would have been adequate, but getting the vitamins and nutrients straight from the source is really the ideal method of nutrition while pregnant. Then Angela had opened her big mouth and told the doctor that there wasn't really anything that her friend wouldn't eat and no limit on how much or how often. _

_He had already suspected as much. Her weight gain this time around was significantly more than normal as was the measurements of her abdomen. They did a quick ultrasound to make sure everything was developing normally before he gave her a lecture on her eating habits, as well as suggestions for a dietary change to accommodate her diabetes. He wrote her a prescription for Metformin and made her another appointment in a few days to check and make sure everything was working out and to check on another suspicion he'd had. He briefly mentioned it to Brennan while Angela was using the ladies room, so not even Angela knew._

"Okay, fine, Bren. You can have the fries, but you cannot have the milkshake. Then we are going straight over to get your medicine from the pharmacy, AND you will tell Booth. Tonight. I'll make sure of it."

Brennan sighed heavily. She knew Angela was just looking out for her, but being told what she could and couldn't have made her want to do exactly the opposite. She couldn't explain why she felt this way. She just felt obstinate and stubborn, which really wasn't all that unusual, except for the fact that this was an issue she knew she should be taking more seriously. So, she nodded in acceptance to Angela. They called the waitress back over where Angela ordered them both a grilled chicken salad and a plate of fries to share.

**B&B**

If Booth had his way, and he didn't, Brennan would go home after lunch every day, freeing her up to be available to pick Parker up from school. So that left the option of afterschool care somewhere else or his mother. Rebecca was a lawyer, but most of her casework was done by the time Parker needed to be picked up.

Usually Rebecca would pick up Parker after school and then spend about two hours with him before dropping him off with Booth and Brennan. This arrangement worked perfectly to ensure that Parker would get plenty of time with his mother, and also made it so that the partners could work until the end of their day without worrying about who was going to need to get off of work early to go pick him up.

However, today Rebecca had interrupted her lunch with Angela to call and let Brennan know that she was hung up in court and wouldn't be able to get out in time to pick up Parker.

So, after only spending two rather unproductive hours at the lab today, she gathered her things in preparation to leave for the day to go pick up Parker. Just as she reached the lab doors, she heard Angela holler out to her.

"WAIT, BREN! WAIT!" Brennan turned around in annoyance to watch her friend scurry into her office gather her belongings and then run towards her. "I'm coming with you."

"I don't need a babysitter." Brennan told her as she started walking again.

"No, but I'm going to stay with you until you tell Booth; then I'll leave."

"I'm just going to pick up Parker right now. Booth is still hung up in court with Caroline as far as I know. I don't know when he'll be able to get away."

"Sweetie, don't make it sound like he is going to be gone all night. The courthouse closes at five, and I highly doubt some high and mighty judge is going to put in overtime. He'll be done by five, and it's only," she reached over to grab her friend's wrist to look at her Rolex, "two-forty. Surely you can stomach hanging out with me until then."

Brennan gave her an annoyed look that was softened immediately upon seeing Angela's face contort in a pout after waiting for Brennan's response.

"Okay. I just want to get Parker, and relax at home. I didn't get anything done at work today, yet I feel so tired."

"It's okay to be tired. You're growing a tiny human in there. That's gotta be exhausting."

"You have no idea."

"Bren? I know you want to go home, but maybe we should make a trip to the grocery store after we pick up Parker to pick up some more healthy food choices for you."

"Oh, Booth isn't going to like that. He told me that I was just now getting into the stuff that normal people like to eat."

"He may not like it, but once he knows it's for your health as well as the baby's well being, he will be fine with it."

"You're right, but he'll be disappointed that mac and cheese will be off of the menu for a while. Too much starch."

They both got into Brennan's Mercedes and drove off to pick up Parker.

"Angela, can I ask you something?"

"Anything, Sweetie. You know that."

Brennan gripped the wheel slightly and bit her bottom lip.

"Do you think Booth would mind if we postponed our Babymoon?"

"I don't know. It would probably depend on the reason that you want to postpone."

"Well, Russ' wife, Amy, just had her baby, and I would like to go see them. We are scheduled to leave for our Babymoon at my LA condo on the third, which is this Friday. I just want to see my family, but I also don't want Booth to think that I don't want to spend this time with him."

Angela sighed. "Bren, he loves you. He will understand. That would be a perfect reason to postpone your one-on-one time with your hot husband. He isn't going to be mad that you want to spend time with your family. Besides, you used the word _postpone_, not _cancel_, which to me says that you still want to go. Just, not right now."

Angela turned to Brennan and made sure she had her attention. "Who knows, maybe you two can take the girls and the baby for a couple hours to give the new mommy and daddy some much needed alone time together, and at the same time, it would be a good experience for both of you as well."

"It does sound like fun to practice. I know Booth knows what to do already, but I have zero experience with infants."

"You guys took care of Andy."

"No, that's different. Andy was a baby, but he wasn't a newborn."

"Very true, and you know, Booth may not have as much experience with babies as you think he does. Remember that Rebecca wasn't exactly civil to him when Parker was born. I remember Booth saying that he really didn't get much time with him until after he turned one."

"Then we would both benefit from the experience. I have the entire week off next week, as does Booth. We can go and spend plenty of time with my family. Should we amend our plans to include Parker?"

"Talk to Booth about that. He may still want to have time alone with you, if he can get it."

"True, but I just don't want Parker to feel like he is being left out. I want him to meet his cousin."

"He can meet his cousin anytime. He does still have school. It's almost December, and in just about three weeks, it will be Christmas break. You can take him then." Angela told her.

"Right. He's missed enough school from being sick, and from times when we've needed to go pick him up to calm him down from panic attacks."

"Is he still getting those?"

"They seem to be subsiding."

"That's good. Anyways, just ask Booth what he thinks."

Brennan pulled into the lot at Parker's school. They waited for a few minutes for the bell to ring, as they were a little early, but it was always better to arrive early so they could be at the front of the long line of cars.

**B&B**

Brennan received a text from Booth as she was getting things ready to fix dinner with Angela's help.

_Stressful day. I need some time to think. Going to the garage at Hodgins' castle to work on my car. Stay out of trouble. ;) Love you, B_

_Do you need time and space? I need to talk to you about something, actually a few things. Angela is here and she won't leave until I talk to you about one of them. Love you too, B_

_No, just time. You can come here if you want. ;) Is everything okay?_

Brennan typed up a message, but deleted it as she decided that she didn't really want to tell him over text message. It was too impersonal and she wouldn't be able to explain fast enough. She knew he would just rush home to make sure she was okay. She thought for a minute before typing up another message and sending a vague explanation of what she wanted to talk about.

_Everything is fine. I just want to tell you about my doctor's appointment and ask you about something. Parker's doing homework. I'd rather not disturb his progress, and I was just about to start dinner._

_You don't have to disturb him. Have Angela stay with him; she can fix dinner for him. Then you can come here and talk to me. She'll have to see both of us when we get home. She can make sure you talked to me then. Besides, now that I know that you need to talk to me about something, I'm not going to leave you alone until you do._

_You can be quite annoying sometimes._

_Only because I care. _

_Are you going to be all greasy later?_

_Probably, and sweaty. I'm going to need a shower for sure._

_And you can clean the bathroom after we get grease everywhere._

_:( Will there be an inspection, too, Drill Sergeant Bones?_

Then following the message he sent, he immediately sent another one after her wording caught his attention.

_We?_

_Yes; I'd like to help you wash up. ;)_

_You clean me; I'll clean the bathroom. You've got a deal, Bones. So, are you going to come to the garage?_

_Yes. I'll see you in twenty minutes. Love you, B_

_Okay, baby. Love you too, B_

**B&B**

Brennan pulled up to Hodgins' front gate and was buzzed in immediately by the groundskeeper who recognized her car. She waved to the young man she'd met only a few times previously.

She pulled up to the large structure that housed all of Hodgins' classic cars and Booth's birthday gift. She got out and walked over to the large door that was open on the left side of the building.

Upon entering the garage, she spotted the object of her affection hunched down into the hollowed out cavity under the hood. He had been working on stripping everything out of the car in order to get a good idea of what needed to be replaced and what could be salvaged so that he could order the parts and have them on hand.

As he was hunched down using a wrench to remove a nut holding something in place; each movement he made caused a rippling in his bare back and side as his muscles worked in perfect synchronization and strength to do what he was doing. His shirtless torso was covered in a sheen of perspiration.

Brennan's hormone stricken body detected the strong pheromones of her strong alpha male.

He was still hunched down into the hood of the car with his back turned to her. She walked over to him, and even though she made no sound or movement to touch him as she admired his physique, his sniper senses were never in off mode. He detected her presence the second she laid her eyes on him.

"Hi, Bones," he said without turning around. He finally got the part he was working on loose and pulled it out of the frame. He turned to her and smiled at her. "Don't look so surprised. Sniper, Bones. I know you were watching me." He held his arms out like he was going to hug her, but she gently pushed the tip of her index finger into his solar plexus, immediately stopping his progression towards her.

"Not yet. We're not going to have greasy sweaty sex in Jack's garage, Booth."

"Uh, wow. I just wanted a hug."

"If you were to touch me, I wouldn't be able to promise that we wouldn't have sex right where we stand, Booth. You have no idea what the sight and scent of your body is doing to me right now."

"I used to be a horny teenage male; I think I have a good idea," He retorted.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to look at…you." She stated exasperatedly. "This isn't even what I came here for, but it's damn sure all I can think about."

Booth grabbed his old plain black wife beater off of the top of the car. "Here, I'll put this on, if it'll help."

"Booth, you'd have to wear a Mumu to help the thoughts crossing my mind right now, and honestly you need to take that back off because somehow seeing you in it makes it worse than seeing your bare chest."

He removed the wife beater that he'd just put on, used it to wipe seat from his brow instead and grabbed a stool for her to sit on. He shut the hood of the car and leaned against it.

Brennan's body responded to that sight as well. She groaned in frustration.

"Leaning against the car sure as Hell isn't going to help, Booth. Please."

"Right, sorry." Booth chuckled. "Maybe, I should just close up shop here and we can go grab a bite to eat or something."

"Yes!" Brennan exclaimed a little too eagerly. Then she sighed heavily. "That sounds like a good idea. Public places and all, it might be able to tame what I'm feeling right now."

"Hmm, and here I thought you'd just be hungry, but you're just using it as a means to keep from jumping me?" He laughed.

"It isn't funny." Brennan gave a faux pout. He was messing with her and she knew it.

"No, baby. I know it isn't." He gathered his tools and stowed them away in an old looking toolbox and grabbed a damp towel and wiped most of the grease off of his hands and arms.

**B&B**

When they arrived at the diner, Booth headed to the bathroom to get cleaned up a little more. Brennan insisted on driving the SUV to the diner because she wasn't going to let his greasy ass in her Mercedes, and she didn't want to take two cars when they were headed to the same place. She figured she could get her car later. She and Booth usually rode together everywhere anyways.

She ordered his usual for him and something healthy for her. She was actually kind of glad that he wasn't sitting there when she ordered. She didn't want him to question why she had gone back to such a healthy choice of meals. She really didn't want to discuss that topic right off the bat. She'd made up her mind. Once he got back, she was going to bring up wanting to go see her brother and his family.

The waitress dropped off Booth's coffee and Brennan's water just as Booth returned to the table.

"What no hot chocolate?"

_Crap. I hadn't thought about the fact that I've been getting hot chocolate a lot recently. I should have known he would notice that._

"Not tonight," she stated, simply.

"Did you order yet?"

"Yes, Jessica said it should be out soon. They aren't really that busy."

"Good. So…" He said trying to prompt her into what she wanted to talk about without having to actually ask her. He knew that if it was a big issue that asking her could make her feel rushed to say it and she would likely then shut him out instead of telling him.

"So, what?"

He smiled as he realized he should have known that it wouldn't be that simple. "We needed to talk?"

"Oh, yes. Just hear me out before you say no, okay?"

"Okay." _If only she knew just how hard it is to tell her no about anything. She could ask me to steal something from the National Museum of Science and I'd be hard pressed to say no._

"I was talking to Angela today—"

"Oh, Lordy!" He threw his arms up in mock terror at the thought of what they were talking about. He never knew if it was about saving pigs or Angela trying to coax small confessions out of Brennan about their sex life.

"Booth! Stop it."

"Okay, continue."

She glared at him for a good long moment making sure it was clear that if he interrupted again that he'd be taking his shower alone and then most likely sleeping on the couch.

Then just before she started talking again, her face softened and glowed. A complete one-eighty from the look she'd just given him.

"I want to go see my brother. I know we are supposed to go on our Babymoon on Friday, but I was thinking that I'd like to postpone," she said, making sure she used the wording she'd used with Angela, "what if we went to spend the week at my brother's instead? I would like to see Luke, and Angela said she thought that it was a good idea because then we could get experience with the baby and give Russ and Amy a much needed break. I know we were both looking forward to the time…"

She was rambling and it was cute. He'd been trying to tell her, yes, they could go, since she had asked the question. She hadn't heard him yet, so he leaned across the table and kissed her to shut her up.

The kiss wasn't long or particularly toe-curling, but it was enough to occupy her mouth enough to stop her rambling.

"I would love to go spend the week with your brother. Angela is right; it would be good experience for the both of us. What about Parker? It was going to be just the two of us to get away for a bit, but now that we're going to see family, what should we do?"

"Angela and I already thought that through as well. As much as I would want him to meet his new cousin, I think that since he would have to miss school to go, he should go ahead and stay here with Rebecca as planned. The holiday break is coming up soon, and there will be plenty of opportunity for him to see them sometime during that time frame."

"That sounds like a good plan. Rebecca will appreciate it that we aren't taking away that week that she was probably already looking forward to anyway. I always hated it when she did that shit to me. Plus, we might still get chances for alone time there."

"So you're not mad that we're not going to Los Angeles to my condo? And you're not mad that Parker isn't going?"

"Nope. I don't care where I'm at as long as you're there."

"That's corny."

"Doesn't make it any less true."

They had to lean back to let the waitress drop off their food in front of them. Booth was about to reach for the saltshaker as she began to walk away, but he called her back just before she got too far.

"Hey, Jessica," he called and he motioned her back over after she turned back. "We didn't get our French fries."

"Sorry, Mr. Booth. Temperance didn't order any. I can have them made really quickly if you want some."

"Actually," Brennan cut in, "I did that on purpose. She didn't forget anything, Booth."

"Oh, okay," he said with suspicion. He turned back to Jessica, "Nah, we don't need any. Sorry to have thought you forgot something. You've never steered us wrong before."

"No problem, Mr. Booth."

She walked away, and as soon as she had disappeared behind the counter to grab the pot of coffee to make her rounds refilling cups, Booth leaned in towards Brennan. He narrowed his eyes towards her, doing his own version of squinting where he tried to get a good read on what she is thinking.

"What's wrong, Bones. Why didn't you get fries? We haven't ever not had fries when we're here, except for breakfast, and you're just having water. Something's wrong; what is it?"

"Nothing's _wrong_, per say, just _complicated_ slightly."

"Bones, stop diminishing the problem. I can tell something's wrong."

He pushed their plates to the side. Food could wait. He grabbed her hand from across the table and brought it to meet both of his hands in the center of the table. "Tell me, Temperance. Is the baby okay? I know you had an appointment today, then you said you wanted to talk to me, and I've been pretty patient as you've stalled telling me." She glanced away briefly before turning back to him when he said he knew she was stalling. "Don't look at me like that; I've been worried since we were texting each other earlier. We're in this _together_, remember. Please, don't shut me out."

"The baby is fine, and I am fine. It's just complicated. The test I took today was to test my tolerance to glucose. Dr. Matthews diagnosed me with gestational diabetes. I have to be way more careful about what I eat; that's why, no fries and hot chocolate."

"But you're both okay?" He asked, just making sure. He could never be too careful in a situation where his unborn child and the love of his life were involved.

"Yes, we're healthy," she said, hoping he didn't catch that she didn't say _both_. "The doctor said that I gained more weight that I should have, but not so much that it will be unhealthy."

This wasn't the time to tell him about the other thing, yet. She knew he was about to bombard her with questions.

"So, this Gestapo—"

"Gestational." She quickly corrected. He gave her a look with that damn smile of his. "Oh, you did that on purpose."

"Gestational diabetes, can you elaborate on that? I know what regular type I and type II are, but I didn't know anything like gestational diabetes existed."

"It's just like type II diabetes, only instead of being brought on by age or obesity, the insulin resistance is brought on by pregnancy. My age puts me at an increased risk factor as well as does the effect on my body from our stressful jobs. It is also very likely that my mother had it when she was pregnant with me; I'll have to ask dad about that."

"Will it go away?"

"After birth, yes."

"How is it treated?"

"I have to take Metformin twice a day, but the most effective treatment is staying active and keeping a healthy diet of high fiber and protein with low starches and sugars. It will also be more beneficial to eat several small meals a day instead of just the standard three that we usually have."

"That sounds easy enough. You are fairly active, especially with the Taipei—"

"Tai Chi," she corrected.

He rolled his eyes and continued, "Uh, that, and I'll just have an excuse to come to the lab more often to get you to eat. I'm sure you won't have trouble getting back to your healthier eating habits. So are you going vegetarian again?"

"No, that will be unlikely until I, at the very least, stop breastfeeding. I just need to be healthier about what I eat. Technically, one could be a vegetarian, or even a vegan, and still be really unhealthy. It is very easy to fall into the trap of eating fried vegetables by justifying it with the simple misguided fact that it's healthier because it's vegetables instead of something else such as junk food or fast food."

He chose to ignore the technicality and steered the conversation in a different direction. "So, is this what Angela insisted you tell me before she leaves us alone for the night?"

"Yes, part of it. I suspect that she thought that, _for some reason_, I wouldn't tell you." She intentionally held back her initial reaction to not tell him about it. Then, she thought better of it. No secrets. "Well, I may have given her that reason."

His eyebrows rose at her confession and she quickly and softly continued, "I didn't want you to worry." She was all of the sudden less sure of herself, but she needed him to know why from her so that he didn't hear it from Angela and then get mad at her. "I didn't want to tell you because I thought that it would mean you would never let me have a meal by myself."

"You're afraid that I'd smother you?" He summarized.

"Why would you deprive me of oxygen? That sounds rather psychotic and highly improbable given your affection for me."

Booth smiled. "I mean that you don't want me to constantly hover telling you what to eat and what you can't eat."

"Exactly, and," she started not sure if she should tell him the rest. "I didn't want you to tease me," she finally admitted.

"What, Bones; why would I?" He asked, suddenly offended that she would ever think something so insensitive about him, and he didn't even yet know why she thought he would do that.

"Well, I thought that you would tease me about everything I've eaten lately. I don't want you to see me as obese. I don't want you to think I have no self-control. I feel so unattractive."

"Bones, you don't have to worry about what I think. You could be pregnant and about to explode with ten babies, and you'd still be the hottest woman I'd ever laid my eyes on."

"That brings me to my next…situation." She said, waiting patiently for her words to penetrate his thoughts.

* * *

**Am I that evil? Maybe.**

**I'm hoping that leaving you with a slight cliffie will give me some incentive to be much better about writing. **

**I have not lost the inspiration for this story; it's still my baby. I've just had a rough time lately. My papa passed away January 27****th**** so I was out of town for almost a week. Then we got snowed in for close to a week. That just shouldn't happen in Texas, y'all. Ludicrous. Then, the past couple of days I had a few more issues with my laptop, but I think it's all fixed now, and I didn't lose anything this time because I'm more paranoid than Hodgins.**

**I've said it before, I do not touch this story with a 39 and a ½ foot pole unless I am in the right frame of mind to do it justice. During the time I spent away, I made a list of things I would like to see happen in this story. Some may morph in to their own little one-shots unrelated to this story, but that little brainstorming adventure should prove to be good for this story. I very much look forward to bringing some of those to fruition here.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	44. Like Ripping a Band Aid Off

"_Bones, you don't have to worry about what I think. You could be pregnant and about to explode with ten babies, and you'd still be the hottest woman I'd ever laid my eyes on."_

"_That brings me to my next…situation." She said, waiting patiently for her words to penetrate his thoughts._

It just didn't seem to happen. It felt like an hour had gone by and he still had his eyebrows furrowed looking at her with confusion. He made no indication that he'd caught on. _Maybe, I just wasn't obvious enough, _she thought.

Booth's training in the army and as an interrogator had taught him the importance of not showing your cards to the enemy. While he didn't make any outward show that he understood where she was taking the conversation, he'd definitely caught on. He just needed to hear her say it aloud, just in case his mind was playing tricks on him.

"Dr. Matthews would like me to come back in on Thursday for another ultrasound. He did one today after he took measurements and he told me that he saw something that he'd like to…"

Brennan trailed off when she noticed Booth's breaths get shallow and he turned the palest shade of white she'd ever seen on a live human being.

He was trying so hard not to react now; he wanted to smile so badly. He just wanted her to say it; he wanted to hear the words.

"Oh, no, Booth. Nothing is wrong," she said assuming that the look on his face was panic. "He just thinks that he saw another baby. He wasn't sure though."

"Are you saying that we're having twins?" He asked with a huge relieved smile that told her that if it were true he would be okay with it and she wouldn't be alone. As long as they were both on the same page, she knew they'd be okay. She knew she could do this, no matter the outcome.

"Most likely. He wasn't entirely sure; he thought at first that it was just my kidney, but after he looked at it for a minute he wasn't so sure. He couldn't get a good angle on the ultrasound without getting interference from other organs and Joey. He said that if there is more than one baby they are in what is called a shadowing position where you cannot see the other because instead of being side-by-side they are positioned directly with one in front of the other. He thinks that if we wait a few days that the baby or babies will shift to different positions were he could get a better look. He said he also thought that he heard a faint second heart beat."

"Faint? Does that mean—" He started to say with panic starting to rise up his spine with a huge lump forming in his throat and his wide smile fading away.

"No, if there is a second heart beat, then it would not necessarily mean anything bad if it appeared to sound faint. From that specific angle, something could have simply been blocking the waves of the sound."

"So, if there is a second baby, it would explain the extra growth and weight gain, right?"

"Yes."

"How will it affect the gestational diabetes? Or will it interfere with the how you treat the gestational diabetes?"

"It shouldn't affect anything either way. If anything, I will maybe become insulin dependent. We just have to monitor my blood sugar closely. I will likely go back to the doctor again in a couple of weeks to check in and make sure that we don't need to use stronger medicines or go on insulin. The most pressing issues with twins are preeclampsia, hypertension, gestational diabetes and preterm labor. No matter how we look at this, from here on out, this is not going to be an easy pregnancy for me. There are a lot of extra risks with a multiple birth."

"_Us_, Bones. It isn't just you; you are not alone in this. Never forget that."

They'd both been picking and snacking on their food as they'd talked. Brennan was ready to go home and finally relax. She hadn't gotten much work done, but it'd been a long day and she was definitely taxed.

"Can we go home now; we can discuss this all more there. I just really need to lay down," Brennan said, yawning halfway through her sentence.

"Sure."

**B&B**

Booth and Brennan walked in to find Parker wearing Booth's old camouflage hunting jacket that he usually wore when they went camping with his face covered in paint; he had a Nerf gun and was chasing Angela around the living room. Booth started to get angry at the artist because Parker had school tomorrow and it would not be a good thing to send Parker to school with a face painted to match the jacket.

Angela quickly assured that it was only water colors since she didn't have her _good stuff_ with her, and the only kind of paint they had in the apartment was Parker's water colors.

Without saying a word, Angela looked pointedly at Brennan with her eyebrows raised, asking her the silent question. _Did you tell him?_ As obvious as it was, Brennan missed it completely. Booth caught it immediately but figured he'd give Brennan a few seconds to figure it out. When she didn't he spoke up, dismissing Angela.

"She told me, Angela. You can go home to Jack now," he said as he walked over to the hall closet to get her jacket. "Thank you for watching Parker."

He knew he was being kind rude by rushing her off, but he just wanted to relax with his Bones, and that wasn't likely to happen with Angela there. As much as he loved her, and was grateful for all of the things that she and Jack had done for them, sometimes her personality could be grating on his nerves at the end of a long day.

He'd just spent all day in court testifying on a case without his true partner in fighting crime to keep him company. Then he'd gone to the garage and worked on his car, which helped a little until he'd texted Brennan telling her he would be there for a little bit only to have her say she needed to talk to him about something. When she didn't elaborate much more than saying that she needed to talk about her appointment, his mind immediately went to a million horrible things that could be wrong.

Then, when she showed up, her sexual desire for him was so think it could not have been cut with a knife, it would have had to be chiseled away with a pickaxe or better yet a jackhammer. He waited patiently as she fought her horny mind and stalled the conversations she'd showed up to have. He finally suggested going eat somewhere, figuring that putting her in a public place and placing a table between them would curb her thoughts and focus her mind to talk. He really didn't have a problem with her idea to postpone the Babymoon. He rather liked the idea to go see her family and their new addition. Then he'd waited while she waged a war in her mind of how to say what she needed to tell him. As serious as her condition was, he was glad that it wasn't something more serious as it could have been. The scenarios he imagined in his mind made gestational diabetes look like a walk in the park. Then he experienced a brief moment where he wanted to strangle her for thinking that he'd thought anything bad about her or blamed her for the condition. Ludicrous.

Then, she'd dropped the bomb that there may actually be two babies. The delight and hope in her eyes mixed with the worry and fear made him just want to hold her until she came to terms with the possible reality.

All it took for her to accept that possibility was for her to look at him. He saw the moment her face changed. The moment she knew they'd be okay because they had each other. Well, he'd be damned if he didn't just hold her anyway, whether she needed it or not. Which was why he was trying to get rid of Angela so quickly. He'd been promised shower sex earlier, and he'd really like to get to it so that they could then settle down and relax with each other.

He placed a quick peck on Angela's cheek, telling her that he was grateful for her being there to watch Parker and to make sure he got his homework done. He guided her to the door with a hand on her upper back and bid her goodbye. Before he shut the door, she yelled back to Brennan that she'd see them tomorrow.

It wasn't quite time for Parker to go to bed and the boy was still hyper from the thrill of chasing Angela around. Booth couldn't get him to settle down, so he sent him in to the bathroom to wash his face up and then told him he needed to wind down by reading a book. He reminded Parker that for each book he read, he was given a token in his class. At the end of each month the kids could trade the tokens in for cool prizes. The reminder gave Parker the motivation to do as he was told.

Booth walked into their bedroom to prepare for his shower, but his spidey senses were immediately going off the second he stepped into the room. Brennan was laying on her side on their bed, facing away from him.

_Sonofabitch, what'd I do now?_ She did this when she was upset with him lately. Usually something he said or didn't say put her in this particular situation. He couldn't think of anything that he'd done in the last half hour to trigger this. Maybe he was wrong and it wasn't him.

"Baby, are you okay?" He asked as he laid down on his side facing her. His pillow was being occupied between her knees to relieve some of the stress on her back, so he propped himself up on his elbow. He placed his free hand on her hip and rubbed long soothing lines along the side of her body. "Are you upset?"

"No, not really. I…I really hope that there is another baby, but I was thinking, what if we're getting our hopes up and there isn't another one?"

"I'm not going to say that we won't mourn the loss of something that isn't there if we find out that there isn't another baby, but you said that Dr. Matthews was fairly sure that there is. I'm going to choose to think that it's true. Because knowing that it is a possibility gives me the chance to love that baby too. If it turns out that I've already fallen in love with a baby that didn't exist, then I think the mourning of that loss would be easier than the realization that there is actually a baby there and I didn't love it simply because I didn't allow myself to believe in its existence until I had proof."

"Why does that sound so ridiculous and make so much sense, all at the same time?" She scooted her pillow over to him, which he declined use of considering he was still greasy and probably shouldn't even be laying in their bed right now.

Then she really looked at him and realized why he'd refused the use of her pillow. She swatted him in the shoulder, "Booth, get your filthy ass off of this bed!"

"Okay, okay. I'm getting up." He got off the bed, and went to turn the water on.

**B&B**

They were getting ready for bed, when Booth noticed she was just sitting in the chair reading something about her new test meter.

"So you're going to have to prick your fingers?"

"Yes, I have all of the supplies already," she said holding them up. "Angela and I picked them up today when we went to get my medicine."

"What are you doing?"

"Reading…" She said as if it weren't completely obvious.

"Have you done this before?"

"No. They showed me how earlier at the doctor's office, but they did it for me. Now, I find myself irrationally scared to do this by myself. It's different when someone else does it for you."

"Do you want me to do it?"

"No."

"But you said—"

"I _know_ what I said; I said it, but I find that despite my daily dealings with dead bodies and putrid smells, I find myself to be a little squeamish regarding blood right now. The sight of my own blood earlier today made me nauseous."

"How about I do it for you and you not look?"

"I need to be able to do this for myself."

He agreed with her, knowing that he wouldn't be there for every time she needed to test. He also very much hoped that she would not end up being insulin dependent because if she couldn't just poke her finger, how was she going to be able to give herself a shot?

She swabbed the finger she'd chosen and placed the lancet device to her finger and hovered her thumb over the button. She took a deep breath and then chickened out. She repeated the process a few more times, failing to press the button each time.

"Just push the button, Bones. Stop torturing yourself. It isn't that bad. I've had my finger poked a million times when they were doing blood tests before and after my brain tumor."

"It's different when you're going to do it to yourself. You know what's coming and when; when someone else does, you know it's coming, but you don't have any control over the when. It's the realization that I'm going to do something that is going to hurt that is stopping me."

"Bones, I've seen you pull a scalpel out of your bleeding arm. I've seen you place the flesh of your hand in the way of the hammer on a gun being fired. Now, you can do this. Just push the button."

She attempted to do it again, but once again couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Bones, let me have the lancing device. I'm going to poke myself. Okay? Then, I'm going to change the lancet and you are going to do your finger. If it will help, I will stick my finger when you have to stick yours until you're comfortable doing it without me."

"That doesn't make any sense. Why would you do this when you don't need to. There isn't any need for you to—"

She stopped abruptly when she saw that he was seriously going to do it. He swabbed his finger and she watched as he brought the device to his finger and immediately pushed the button triggering the snapping release of the needle to penetrate his finger and draw a small drop of blood to the surface.

"There see? You just have to do it without psyching yourself out. Just get it over with; like ripping a band-aid off. Yeah, you have to do it, and yeah, it's going to sting, but you just have to get it over with and not torture yourself over it." He'd changed the lancet and sterilized the device with a swab while he talked and then he handed it to her. "Your turn."

She swabbed her finger again and swiftly did just as he did, succeeding this time. She grabbed the meter and stuck the strip at good angle for it to draw in the drop of blood. It only took a few seconds for the device to give her a reading. She was pleased that the reading was good, and she packed everything away and left it on the bathroom counter.

As she brushed her teeth, Booth came in the bathroom to do the same. He told her he was proud of her and kissed her on the temple before grabbing his own toothbrush.

**B&B**

The next morning Brennan told Booth that Angela didn't know about the possibility of twins as she had gone to the restroom before the doctor brought it up. They decided to keep it a secret until they knew for sure that they were having twins. There was no sense in getting everyone's hopes up. It was going to be challenging enough with just the two of them if it were to be only one baby.

They'd also made sure to let Rebecca know of their change of plans. She offered to let Parker go with them, but Booth insisted that she spend the time with their son. He didn't want to take that away from her.

Thursday morning Booth took Brennan, full bladder and all, to the doctor's office for another ultrasound to see if the visible baby had shifted to where they could get a better look or at least find another heartbeat.

Brennan was the first scheduled appointment that morning so there was no wait. They were walked back to the exam room upon arrival. Brennan settled herself up on the exam table and relaxed as best she could given the fact that she really had to urinate. It was only a few minutes before Dr. Matthews walked in and greeted them.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Booth. I believe this may be the first time I've had the pleasure of seeing you both since the wedding. Congratulations, and I assume that Temperance here has filled you in on why we're here today?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, let's take a look to see if we can find that other baby in there. I explained to your wife last time that if there is another baby in there that they would have to be identical as there is no second outer membrane. In fraternal twins there would be two visible sacs each with their own membrane and placentas, and often times they are easier to detect earlier in pregnancy due to that fact. With identical twins, they have their own amniotic sacs but share the same placenta and the outer membrane. Sometimes one baby may be slightly bigger than the other and simply shields the small twin from view. We're going to see if in the past few days they have maybe shifted to make the second baby more visible. Mr. Booth, I also told your wife last time that I was sure that I heard a second heartbeat. This appointment is just to be one-hundred percent positive. Aright, ready, Mama? This'll be cold." He squirted the jelly on her exposed abdomen, and placed the wand into the goop.

He looked around for a few minutes concentrating on what he could see. He had turned the sound on and the sounds of one strong heartbeat surrounded them. He moved the wand around to a different position finding another faint sound that could be another heartbeat, and then he moved the wand again. Finally, he found what he was looking for.

"Ah, there we go. Baby number two. There's the head and arms, I'll shift this a little and we'll get a good look at the spinal column. Looks good, and hear that? Two heartbeats. Congratulations, you two are going to be parents of two twin baby boys."

Booth and Brennan wore identical awestruck smiles.

"Lookie there, Bones. Wow, can you believe it?"

"Of course I believe it. I saw it with my own eyes, Booth."

"No, I mean; it just seems so incredible. We did this. We made them."

"Can we get a couple of printouts of the pictures?" Brennan asked after being kissed silly by Booth..

"Sure, let me send them to the printer. Do you have any other questions for me?"

Booth and Brennan shared a look and both shook their heads. "Not that we can think of," Booth replied.

"I'll leave you two alone for a few minutes. I'll leave the pictures up on the screen. Like always, there's a box of tissues over there on the counter you can use to clean the jelly off with. I've got you scheduled to come back in two weeks to check on the gestational diabetes. How has the testing been going since being put on the medicine?"

"Well, after she got over the first few times of having to stick her own finger, she's been doing fine with it."

"Booth, he means what have my readings been like."

"Oh, well, I don't know what any of that stuff means, so I'll let you take that one."

"The readings have all been within the range we talked about."

"Good, I don't think you'll have to be put on insulin, but let's keep that appointment and I will check your A1C levels then. Alrighty, I'll see you in two weeks. I'll just leave the pictures up front with the receptionist and you can get them when you pay for the visit. Take care."

**B&B**

After dinner that night, Booth was washing the dishes while Brennan sat on a stool and dried them.

Booth handed her a dish, "We have a name for one baby, what should we name the other?"

Brennan took one look at the dish and scowled at him, "Booth this isn't clean!"

He took the dish back, "Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention. I'm still floored by the fact that we're having twins. So, what will we name the second one?"

"I would still like to name whichever baby that comes out first to be Joseph. I'm not entirely sure about baby number two. What do you think?"

"I think I need to sleep on this. We've been talking about names for awhile, and I thought we were done picking the names. Now, I have no idea what names I like anymore and which names go better with others. With Parker, it was easy to pick a name. It was harder to get Rebecca to agree, but she came around when she saw how much it meant to me. And when you suggested Joseph, I was hesitant, at first. I share that middle name with my dad, but when you gave your explanation for why you wanted that name, I knew it was right. Now, I have no clue."

"I know what you mean. It's like starting all over again. We don't have to decide now. We can, as you put it, sleep on it."

Booth handed her the last dish to dry, and then she put it up in the cabinet.

"Are we going to tell people? 'Cause I'm tellin', ya, Bones, it seems like ever since people found out we are together and about the baby, it seems like we don't have anything that's just between us anymore. People are constantly prying."

"I thought we were going to keep Joey's middle name a secret."

"Once we figure out what it'll be, yeah, we are, but I mean, well…maybe it would be a nice surprise for everyone if they didn't know about the second baby."

"Booth, how would we be able to keep it a secret? I think Angela has declared herself in charge of the nursery."

"We could let her get the nursery done, allowing her to think that she's setting it up for one baby, but as we go, we could purchase double of everything, but keep the duplicate in storage."

"That would work. What about a house? We cannot raise Parker and two infants here. Parker took the guestroom as his own, and the office is barely big enough to be an office. Our room, while big, will not accommodate us, our stuff and two cribs; we will need an actual nursery and maybe a few extra rooms for when the twins will be old enough to have their own rooms and a guest room."

"We could start looking again," Booth suggested, knowing that putting it off any longer would probably just end up causing more stress than just looking even though they had a lot going on.

"As soon as possible would be good, I'm about to be twenty-two weeks along. It takes time to find and buy a house and then time to set up a nursery. In all likelihood, they will be born prematurely, so we need to be prepared."

"We can start looking when we get back. So, are we telling?"

"No," Brennan replied with a soft smile. "It would be nice to have something between us, and it will be a nice surprise. Do we tell Parker?"

"Bones, are you kidding? I love my kid, but the boy's a blabbermouth! I think he'll like the surprise of getting two brothers for the price of one."

"This isn't going to be easy. On top of fooling Angela, people are going to want to see the sonogram pictures as they always do after our appointments. I think they'll figure it out when they see two figures labeled _Baby A _and _Baby B_. Not to mention the fact that I'm just going to keep getting bigger and bigger. Booth, they'll suspect something is up when I'm bigger than an elephant."

"It'll be a challenge, but I think it'll be fun."

Booth and Brennan spent the rest of their night making sure they had everything ready for their trip as they were leaving right during lunchtime the next day. They would go to work in the morning for Brennan to assign her interns some work and for Booth to make sure his fill-in knew the protocol for working with the Jeffersonian and their type of cases, should one come up.

* * *

**I'd like to thank everyone for the sympathy and well wishes. It really feels good to know that so many of you care regardless of whether you know me or not. **

**I'd also like to thank everyone for the amazing reviews. They really do keep me going when times get tough. **

**And a BIG thanks to everyone who has yet to review and all of the silent readers who never will. You guys matter a lot, too. While I'd like you to consider making your presence known, I know just by the sheer number of alerts and hits that I must be doing something right to keep getting them. That means a lot.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	45. The Tells that Expose Us

"Booth! Why are we pulling over into this rest area? I am _not_ using the restroom here!"

"This isn't about that Temperance," Booth exhaled crazily. He wasn't sure if she was aware of it or not, but this woman had been driving his libido absolutely insane since leaving straight from his office to go visit Brennan's brother and his family.

She'd said some things, perhaps innocently enough, but it seemed like it just keep happening. So much so, that he now believed that she was doing it on purpose to _get a rise out of him_. Pun intended.

He pulled to an abrupt stop to a secluded part of the rest area.

"Please; don't tell me you have _no_ idea what you just said. You know what, it doesn't matter. I don't care if you meant it one way or the other, all that matters is that my brain heard the double entendre."

"A double entendre implies that I used a word or phrase that means one thing but sounds like it could mean another thing," Booth climbed over the console and used his arm strength to hover over her, bracing himself against the center console and the door. He went straight for her neck as she was talking. He loved it when she got all squinty on him; he wasn't going to shut that up.

"All I said was that I was experiencing some _formication_. You are confusing that with _fornication_. Ah, oh God! Booth! You very well know what fornication is, quite obviously," she let out a long low moan at the sensation from his lips, "but _formication_ is the sensation or feeling of insects crawling under your skin. Formication is a form of…parathesiaaaa, oh, shit, which is the technical term for the tingly or pinssss and needles feeling you can get when your outer extremities fall…asleep."

In fact, Booth already knew what formication really meant, and he did hear that she didn't say _fornication_, but that's all he could think about afterwards until he decided to do something about it.

"You telling me about the creep from the court case you were at on Monday, makes me glad I wasn't there. All I said, in normal terms, was that your description of the defendant made my skin crawl."

Booth pulled his tongue and teeth from her neck, where he'd just made a rather large obvious and downright possessive mark.

"Bones, you know that I love it when you talk like that, but are you going to participate here, or is this going to be a one-sided show?"

She reached down to the lever on the right side of her seat and pulled up, sending the back of the chair into a ratcheting fall backwards. Booth held himself up still so that he wouldn't fall down on her, crushing the precious cargo. She pulled him down with her, regardless, causing him to knock his head onto hers.

They both, momentarily, rubbed the knots forming on their heads. Brennan reached up and kissed his, and then he returned the gesture and kissed hers.

"Seeley, aren't you worried that someone is going to see us?"

"I don't really care," he growled against her collarbone.

"Well, can we at least get in the backseat? I'm willing to admit that I need more room these days, and that seat does nearly lay down flat."

He nodded with a grunt as he pulled himself away from her. He opened the door and climbed off of her. She leaned the seat up and quickly got out of the front and into the back where Booth held the door open for her before climbing in after her. She leaned the seat all the way back, took off her sweatshirt and kicked off her sweatpants and panties. As she undressed herself, Booth undressed himself as well, quickly divesting himself of first, his tight old REO Speedwagon t-shirt, followed by his black jeans and boxers after kicking off his shoes.

"So beautiful," Booth said as he went for her lips with his mouth and brought his hands up to brush his fingers over her nipples, each swipe sending Brennan's own need to have her husband inside her that much higher.

His touch sent shivers throughout her body. She roamed her hands across the vast sculpted planes of his back and sides.

Their assault on each other got more aggressive with each minute that ticked by.

Their needs multiplied exponentially, but they both knew they were not going to get what they wanted from their current position. Missionary, especially in the backseat of a car, was no longer an option due to Brennan's recent growth. Booth rolled over and Brennan held onto him sending her to the top position and ultimately put her in control.

She rolled her hips as he placed himself at her entrance and teased her with the head of his throbbing penis.

"Oh God, Temperance, so wet, so hot."

"Always, Seeley." Her frustration from the teasing spiked when he decided to tease her nipple with the tip of his tongue, leaving her wanting more. "Please…" She begged.

Then she realized that she was the one in control and took matters into her own hands. With a quick thrust downward, she impaled herself into him.

Dual bouts of curses were exchanged as they immediately and aggressively moved in tandem. She sat up to give herself a more free range of motion. She shifted and rolled her hips and gave a few hefty thrusts. He met her as best he could from below. She placed her palms on his pectorals to give herself leverage, and he cupped his hands around her hips to help guide her movements.

She swatted his vice-like grip from her hips and moved his hands to her breasts. He palmed the heavy pliable tissue.

Her hips moved faster and faster as she got closer; she knew he would be right there with her. All of his tells were surfacing. His breathing was shallow and ragged. His eyes were closed with a delightful grimace on his face as he struggled to wait for her. She felt the lengthening of his penis deep inside of her. He had stopped using coherent words and replaced them with grunts and hisses with unintelligible nonsense.

He couldn't wait any longer. He knew she was close by how much her movements sped up with a determination. Her skin was flushed and covered in a thin sheen of perspiration. Her hands were digging into his chest and her fingernails drug across the skin leaving red angry marks. He could feel the tiny flutters begin in her core. He reached down to help speed her climax along. He really couldn't wait any longer. Three swipes of her clit sent her spiraling out of control. She let out a cry of pleasure and a few choice words as she arched back as the spasms in her core sent shudders through her body and almost fell off of Booth and the seat.

Her orgasm milked him dry as he trembled beneath her. She wanted to just lay across his warm comforting body, but she could no longer do that either, so she settled for shifting to lay next to him facing away as he spooned her. He completely enveloped her body into his and placed small kisses at the back and sides of her neck, causing her to shrug him off of her as he tickled her. He stopped trying to kiss her neck and went to her bare shoulder. He had his left arm draped over her abdomen and was gently rubbing long lines with his fingertips.

"You're so beautiful, Bones. Absolutely stunning."

"I love you."

"I love you too, baby." Booth placed his forehead on the back of her head and nuzzled her hair as he sighed. "We should probably get going. They were expecting us to be there soon."

"Booth, you're the one who decided he needed to pull over for a shorty just a mere thirteen miles from Goldsboro," Brennan said sitting up, finding all of her pieces of clothing to redress and climb back in the front seat.

Booth threw his head back against the seat and looked to the roof of the SUV. "_Quickie! _There was _nothing_ short involved here, alright?"

Catching the innuendo, Brennan smiled and muttered, "That's for sure." Brennan looked around. "Booth, what'd you do with my bra?"

He pulled his shoes back on and looked around, "Oh, there it is, up there on the dashboard. I'll get it."

He held her sweatshirt up to her and shielded her from view as he opened the door to get out and get in the front seat.

When he got in, only then did he realize just how hot and steamy it must have been in there. The windows were fogged up beyond visibility. He grabbed the bra off of the dash and handed it back to her.

"Are you going to climb up over the console or do you need to get out to come up here?" He asked.

"What do you think?" She asked as she pulled her sweatshirt over her head and hopped out of the backseat and then into the front seat.

Booth started the SUV and ran the defogger.

"I was just teasing. I knew you wouldn't climb over. You rarely did that even when you weren't pregnant."

"Of course not. It's childish. Can we go, please? I'm really anxious to meet Luke." Brennan pulled down the visor, looked at her reflection, and gasped. Angela would say she looked like sex; Hell, she'd say she smelled like it too, and here they were less than twenty minutes from her brother's house.

The windows were now clear enough that he could safely pull out from the rest area and pull back onto the highway.

She fixed her appearance as best she could, but had no real way of hiding the kiss-swollen lips and giant love bite on her neck. She touched her fingers lightly to the area.

"That does look bad. I'm sorry, Bones. I didn't mean to get so aggressive. But you should know that you drew blood from my chest with your fingernails."

"Sorry. Does it hurt?"

"Stings a little. Your neck okay?"

"It's fine. Just a little tender." She looked over to her husband and laughed at his appearance. "Babe, your shirt is inside-out, and I'd advise you to fix your hair before we walk up to the door."

Booth looked down at his shirt to see the tag sticking out. _Great,_ he thought, _not only did I put it on inside-out, it's on backwards, too._

"Bones, grab the wheel." He pulled his shirt over his head and put it back on the correct way, then he leaned over and glanced at his reflection in the rear-view mirror. "Daddy can't walk around looking that that, can he, boys? Nope, not as the son of a barber." He quickly ran his fingers through his hair, leaving it a little messy, but still presentable. He took the wheel back and took the exit to go to Russ's house in Goldsboro.

A few minutes later, they were driving in a nice residential area. They pulled into Russ' driveway and each took one last look at each other to inspect for more tells of their little roadside quickie. Then Booth hoisted both of their bags over his shoulder and handed Brennan her laptop bag and their pillows. He closed the back of the SUV just as Russ came out of the house to greet them, followed by Max.

Max spoke up first, "Tempe! Booth! You're here!"

Booth looked to Brennan in surprise. Neither of them were aware that Max would be there, but really it made sense. Max was probably there to help look after the girls while everyone adjusted to the new addition in their lives.

"Dad! Russ!" Brennan called out with a huge smile on her face.

"Hey, Max; wasn't expecting to see you here." Booth told the old conman.

"I drove down here when Amy went into labor, but now that you guys are going to be here for a few days, I'm going to be going back to Raleigh for the weekend before heading back home Sunday night."

"What's in Raleigh? Is that where you were for Thanksgiving?" Brennan asked her father.

Russ took the laptop bag from her and left her to carry the pillows before making a suggestion to stop that line of questioning. He'd finally found out why his father was so close to Goldsboro when the baby was born, and he wasn't sure Temperance would be ready to hear it. "Why don't we go inside and talk. The girls are still at school, and Amy and Luke are with Amy's mother right now."

"So we don't get to meet the little big man yet?" Booth asked in obvious disappointment. Russ shook his head. "Bummer."

"They'll be back soon; they just went grocery shopping," Russ said closing the front door behind everyone.

"Will her parents be joining us for dinner tonight?" Brennan asked.

"No, they are just going to have a nice quiet dinner at home. Amy's mother, Maria, said we'd have a full house anyway. She didn't want to add any stress by adding two more people."

"We're not imposing are we?" Brennan asked, suddenly unsure of their plans to stay the week. "We could get a hotel room."

"Don't be ridiculous, Tempe." Russ brushed off her concerns. "Besides, Booth told me that we're going to get you some practice time in?"

"That's what we're hoping for." Booth replied.

"Booth, you can put your bags in the guest room, second door on the right; first door on the left is the bathroom if either of you need it." Russ gestured to the hallway.

Brennan shoved their pillows into her father's arms. "Oh, thank God! I really need to go."

"I'll be in the kitchen making some tea. Booth do you want a beer or anything?"

"Nah, man; I'm good. I'll just have tea." Booth turned to go drop their things in the bedroom with Max following with their pillows in hand.

"You smell like sex," Max stated bluntly.

Booth dropped the bags by the foot of the bed and he palmed his face with his newly freed hand before doing to only thing he could think to do, since he was guilty as charged. He shrugged, "Yeah, well…What are you anyway, channeling Angela in your spare time?"

"It was just an observation."

"Ya know, between you and Bones, I'm going to die of embarrassment."

"If that's the case maybe you shouldn't have given my baby girl such a large hickey on her neck. Other than that particularly glaring piece of evidence, is your normally well-coifed hair looking like someone's had their fists in it. Pregnancy hormones get the better of her, huh, Champ?"

"Actually, no." Booth admitted, surprising himself. "She was…being _Bones_, and that got the better of _me_. We had to pull over into a rest area."

Max held his hand out. "Say no more, son. You may be married to by daughter and expecting a child with her, and I know that you have a healthy adult relationship with her, but that does not mean I want to hear about it."

"Not a problem," Booth said, knowing that he wasn't going to say anything else anyway. "So, what's in Raleigh?" Booth asked, taking note as Max's eyes twinkled and the corners of his mouth curved up at the question.

"Her name is Susie."

Max and Booth joined Brennan and Russ in the kitchen where they caught the tail end of a light argument between the siblings.

"Russ, I don't think it's any of your business."

"Tempe, all I'm saying is that you could have at least covered it up before getting here."

"I wanted to and I will before the girls get here, but I didn't really have access to my makeup bag in the car."

"In the car?" Russ asked with wide eyes. "_That_ happened on the way here?" Russ turned when he heard Booth and Max enter the room. "Did you do that to her?" He asked pointing to Brennan's neck.

"It better have been me." Booth looked at his watch, "Almost half an hour ago."

"Booth! My contusion or the activity in which I received it is none of their business." Brennan hissed.

Max stood back watching in amusement; he found it interesting that their view on discussing sex seemed to have reversed.

"No, it's really not." Booth said going in for a kiss and earning grunts and clearing throats from the two men standing a few feet away.

Booth pulled back rolling his eyes. He poured himself a glass of iced tea and took a long gulp of the cold, thirst-quenching liquid.

"I was just about to go for a run when you guys got here. I think I'll still go, if that's alright," Russ announced. "It was too cold to go this morning. Dad, think you'll be okay with the two troublemakers for a little while?"

"I'll be fine as long as they don't do anything that'll make me want to sharpen a copper pipe." Max joked with shining amused eyes. He was truly happy that both of his kids were able to find happiness in their lives, but he was especially happy for his daughter. She had been much younger than Russ was when she was left all alone in the world. Russ had at least been old enough to find his own way, although illegally. He'd paid for his petty crimes, but still he'd been an adult and had never been subjected to the cruelties of the system and the cold heartless people Temperance had been forced to live with as she fended for herself and fought to stay on top of her schoolwork.

So, yeah, he was proud of her for finally getting a chance at happiness in her life, a chance at a family. As hard as he was on Booth, he truly loved the man for giving that to her. He loved Booth for being there for her when no one else was. He loved Booth for seeing and accepting her for who she was. He'd never tried to change who she was; he'd only managed to enhance the beautiful complicated person that she was.

"You look great, Tempe. _Really_ healthy."

"Thanks, dad. You know, I can feel movement in there now. It's incredible."

"That's wonderful, honey. Your mom and I used to sit around watching movies just waiting to feel when you or Russ would move or kick. There really is no other feeling like it. How is everything else going? How was your appointment Monday?"

"Dad, I need to ask you something. I took the glucose tolerance test on Monday and I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Did mom—"

"You want to know if she experienced it too?" He guessed.

"Yes. I know that my age along with some…_other factors_ may have played a part, but I also know that it is mostly hereditary. Did she have gestational diabetes with either me or Russ?"

"Both of you, actually. Did you know that Russ weighed almost ten pounds because of it? You were smaller because she was more careful with her treatment then, and because since we'd been through it once before we understood it better and it was easier to maintain a healthier lifestyle. Potatoes were her favorite food." Max remembered with a twinkle in his eyes when he thought of all the failed attempts to keep the house free potatoes. She'd once tricked him into fixing her some fried potatoes and onions by asking him to make them for her after waking him up at three in the morning. He'd been too asleep to think about telling her no.

"Bones is quite fond of French fries." Booth added. "It seems like Ruth passed down a lot of things to Bones. I've seen pictures of her where I swear I was looking at Bones. Her love for dolphins, her love for potatoes, and now I guess the gestational diabetes. That's a lot of hereditary things."

"Booth, I don't think the love for dolphins and potatoes count as hereditary as those are not traits passed down in my familial genes."

"Probably not Tempe, but she did pass the love for them on to you." Max said with a laugh. He took a good look at her; _really_ looked at her. "You know what else runs in our family?" Max asked receiving dual looks of curiosity. Temperance shrugged. "Twins."

Booth and Brennan looked at each other, guiltily, and turned back to Max, who wore the biggest cat-that-ate-the-canary grin that could have rivaled one of Booth's endearing smiles.

"Ha! I knew it!" He exclaimed.

"Knew what?" Brennan tried to pretend to not know what he was talking about. She didn't want to be the one to give it away if he hadn't really figured it out. Even if they'd said the actual words aloud, nothing would have been a bigger tell than Booth's giant smile.

"Oh, come on, Tempe; you didn't think you could keep it a secret did you?"

"We were wanting to, yes." She replied, giving it up. "Please don't say anything. We need time to adjust to the idea of two babies and we just want this to be between us since it seems that not much else is."

"I won't say anything, but, honey, you're what? Five months pregnant, but you look like you could be about seven. The last time I saw you was three weeks ago; if you've grown that much in three weeks…I don't know. I think that plan seems a little bit farfetched so I'm just gonna say congratulations and good luck with that." He raised his glass of tea in a mock toast.

* * *

**So, Max has a love interest. We won't go too much into his story line, but how do you think Bones will react to the news, especially given her past feelings regarding love? Will this cause her to question her current beliefs? Hmmm, we'll see.**

**This chapter was going to be much longer, but I split the chapter here as it was the most logical place to do so. I wanted to get the update out since I said I would, but I split it mostly because there was a scene coming up (between Brennan and Max) that I'm not completely okay with yet. There is still something that is not right about it, and it may require a slight rewrite. After I post this chapter, though, I'm going to take a break from this for the rest of the day and come back to it tomorrow to see if a fresh brain will do the trick.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	46. Horrible Idea, Hormones & Hissy Fits

**This took longer to perfect than I thought it would. I got distracted with my Valentine's Day fic, "Will You Be My Valentine?". Also, I made a final decision regarding the rating change for "She Isn't Enough", so I've been working on that as well. I would have posted this earlier this morning if our power had not gone out for almost two hours. I could have uploaded it from my phone, except for the fact that it would have been a pain in the ass to proof from my phone. So in lieu of ease for me and less errors for you, I chose to wait. :)**

**Enjoy, my lovelies.

* * *

**"_I won't say anything, but, honey, you're what? Five months pregnant, but you look like you could be about seven. The last time I saw you was three weeks ago; if you've grown that much in three weeks…I don't know. I think that plan seems a little bit farfetched so I'm just gonna say congratulations and good luck with that." He raised his glass of tea in a mock toast._

"You don't think it's a good idea?" Booth asked.

"I didn't say that. I just don't know that it'll be _doable_." Max replied. "It isn't like I'm rooting against you here. I understand why you want to do it."

"You do?" Brennan asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, yeah. Look, Tempe. People have been sticking their noses into your relationship before you even had one, myself included. I can see where that would leave you and Booth wanting to keep something to yourselves. I just don't know that this should be it. What about Parker? Don't you think that he deserves to know that his life is going to be disrupted by two babies instead of just one?"

Booth and Brennan sat on their stools staring at the glasses of tea in their hands. Max had a point. A baby, while a welcome addition to the family, is a lot of work and far from easy to adjust to, but add a second baby and there is bound to be chaos.

After several moments of silence Max elaborated. "Tempe, you never knew my sisters, Rachel and Abigail."

"Wait, you had sisters?" Brennan asked.

"You never met them because even after we changed our identities, we needed to be able to pick up and leave at the drop of a hat. Family ties would have made it more difficult." Realizing that he was in treacherous territory as far as topics go, he redirected the conversation back to his sisters. "I said twins run our family, right? They were fraternal twins, about ten years younger than I was, just as these boys will be to Parker. It was not always easy once they came along. The house was always noisy. I was always busy helping with the girls rather than spending time with my friends."

Booth nodded in understanding. "You think that he needs the time to adjust to the idea of new responsibilities and all that other stuff, the noise, the clutter, the extra attention being paid to the babies…all of it," Booth stated more than asked.

Now that he thought about it after hearing from someone who was actually in Parker's shoes, the more he realized just how selfish their desire to keep this between them really was. It wasn't just _unrealistic_; it was _unfair_.

"We'll talk some more about it while we're here away from everyone else, alright?" Booth said, directing the implied question at Brennan.

She nodded in confirmation that she would like to discuss it more.

**B&B**

Amy, her mom and baby Luke arrived about fifteen minutes ago from their trip to the store. From the moment they walked in the house, Brennan had been holding Luke and not letting anyone else hold him as Amy and her mom brought groceries inside the house. Amy's mom stayed just long enough to help put the food away and then went home to fix dinner for herself and Amy's dad.

"Bones, you're being a baby hog. I think little Lucas James would like to meet uncle Seeley now."

"Just a few more minutes," she stalled, just as she had the previous three times he'd asked.

"Aw, come on, Bones. We'll be here all week, just let me hold him for a few."

Brennan cradled the baby closer to her. She didn't know what her problem was, but she just knew that she wasn't ready to let this precious baby out of her arms yet. The very thought put tears into her eyes as Booth begged. Once he saw the tears, he'd stopped, pulled her into his arms, baby and all, telling her to take her time.

She sniffled into his neck for a few minutes as Russ looked on in concern. Amy looked on briefly before recognizing the hormones for what they were and continued prepping things for dinner.

When she was ready to pull away from him, she placed a tender kiss to the baby's brow and handed him over to Booth, who asked if she was sure.

Embarrassed, she started rambling, "I'm sorry, Booth. The thought of not keep that precious boy in my arms overwhelmed me there for a minute. I don't know what my problem was."

"I do," Amy responded still chopping celery for their chicken salad casserole. "Hormones. The same thing happened to me when I was pregnant with Emma; you just held a baby, and suddenly you realized that you are going to have one of those for yourself in the coming months."

"But I've known that for a few months," Brennan said.

"You've known it, yes, but holding an actual baby gave you a glimpse of what it will be like. It put some perspective and reality into the knowledge."

"That…makes sense." Brennan replied, holding back the thought that crossed her mind about it not being just one baby, but two. She found that it was getting increasingly difficult to hold the secret in, and now she was sure that she didn't want to anymore. She very much looked forward to her discussion later with Booth about amending that little endeavor.

**B&B**

Later that night Booth and Brennan were settling themselves in the guestroom. Russ and Amy had a large house. It used to belong to Amy's parents. When Amy was growing up in the house, she'd had five other siblings, so the house had a lot of rooms. When Amy's parents retired, they decided they wanted a smaller house, but didn't want to let go of a house that they'd had so many years, so Amy moved into it with her two children just after she'd met Russ. The house had five bedrooms plus some recreational rooms, which enabled Russ and Amy some private space as well as giving the girls and Luke their own rooms as well as still having a room available for guests.

Max had insisted that Booth and Brennan take over his post in the guest room so that his daughter could have a comfortable place to sleep, claiming that there was an oversized overstuffed arm chair in the living room just screaming his name. Brennan, of course protested, but Booth recognized the gesture for what it was. Max wanted Temperance to be comfortable, and Booth wanted the same thing, so who was he to argue with that plan. Booth thanked Max and it didn't take him long to talk his wife into the idea as well using her own logic against her. Ugh, she hated when he did that.

It had been a long day for the Booths, so they had decided to turn in not too long after the girls had been put to bed. Russ and Amy also took full advantage of going to bed early, knowing that they would have to get up with Luke several times during the night.

As Booth and Brennan lay with each other, enjoying the warmth and love being exchanged through the contact, they'd both had the topic of their secret on their minds. The more they both thought about it, the more they were now sure about what a horrible idea it had truly been.

"Booth can we talk now that there is no one around to listen?"

"Of course, baby."

She shifted out of his spooned embrace and rolled briefly to her back, before quickly deciding that she couldn't lay like that for long. She rolled onto her other side to face him.

"I no longer feel attached to the whimsy of keeping the twins a secret, and I've thought a lot about what dad said about Parker's feelings. I don't want him to resent either of his siblings or us because he wasn't properly prepared to handle his new reality. I think maybe, it might have been a different story if he still lived with Rebecca, but since he's with us, I really feel that we should tell him."

"Parker cannot keep a secret. If we tell him we will have to tell everyone, too. It really will just be a lot easier to prepare as well; we wouldn't have to go behind Angela's back to get everything double for the nursery. I gotta tell ya, Bones; this may be the worst idea I've ever had."

"I think I might have to agree with that statement; however, I played a part in deciding to go along with it. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm going to play the baby-brain card on my decision; what's your excuse?" she asked, giving him a playful smirk.

"Baby-brain card? You've been hanging out with Angela just a little too much."

"Jeez, I wonder why. No one will let me out of the lab!" she said, starting to get worked up quickly.

_God, these mood swings will be the death of me,_ Booth thought.

"Uh-uh, Bones; leave thoughts about work at home. Just calm down; you don't want to wake the girls or Lucas."

"Sorry." She looked away, and after a few moments of silence, Booth touched her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Bones, look at me."

Without hesitation, her eyes met his.

"Baby, you will make it through all of the limitations being placed on you. You just have to keep telling yourself that in the end it will all be worth it. Every single minute you aren't in the field with me is another minute closer to meeting our beautiful boys. Every single moment you aren't with me while I do our job with Wendell, is another moment you and our babies are safe. Just remember that."

She nodded into the darkness; he felt her nod against his palm rather than saw it. He also felt a tear track down her cheek as it hit his hand. He kissed the tears away before saying, "We should tell people. Max is right, there's just too much potential for hurt and confusion in the long run. Camille is going to need to know anyways, especially with the additional risk factors and potential of preterm labor."

"I've been considering something anyway."

"What's that, Bones?"

"Well, with my increased back pain, weariness during the day, and my physical limitations, I was just thinking that maybe I should start going in for half days. I know it seems early to do so, but with the extra risk factors we are now aware of, I think the decrease in my stress load would be beneficial. I would also be more inclined to sit around and write. My publisher is pushing to have my new novel out by Valentine's Day, so I've got some deadlines that are going to be cutting it a little bit close."

"I think that may be a good idea. You're always talking about how little you get done after the noon hour anyways."

"Exactly. I'm going to talk to Cam about it when we get back. You know, I think I'm relieved that we are going to tell people about the twins."

"Why's that?"

"Well, for one Parker. Then there's the stress of making the conscious effort to not let it slip. Then there's the fact that we work with Cam, who is a medical professional and she would certainly notice that I'm bigger than I should be. Then there is Zach; while he is still locked up, I know that if I were to go visit him, he would certainly notice that something doesn't quite add up as far as my size versus the average gestational size, probably even better than Cam would. Then, there's Angela; she's like you. Very intuitive. She would be able to guess in a heartbeat. When she figures it out, then you know she'll tell Jack. Or if our plan were to get tinned—"

"Foiled."

She ignored his correction and plowed through her thoughts.

"…Sweets would certainly analyze us to the threshold of human existence; using the fact that we were choosing to keep something like this a secret to conform into one of his many theoretical insights into the human psyche."

"Gotta agree there, Bones. He would pry into our lives and ask questions about it and he would steeple his fingers and say, _that's interesting,_" Booth mocked the young psychologist.

"Yeah," Brennan agreed and finished his thought,_ "_and then he'd continue with some contrived explanation as to why the secret was our way of masking our insecurities in either our partnership or marriage by trying to gain control over something as simple as who knows what about our lives."

"Yeah, I'm relieved we're going to tell people, too. I think you thought your explanation out way more than I did, but I think you pretty much covered it all." He kissed her nose.

"I can't wait to tell Pops and Parker," Brennan confessed with a lopsided grin.

"You know, there's a few people in this house that will be pretty excited as well."

"How should we tell them?" Brennan asked.

They discussed their course of action for the reveal. As Booth explained it to her, she realized that the thrill she was going to get from the revelation was going to be as big and powerful as the thrill of sharing something solely with her husband, which felt pretty damn good.

**B&B**

"Aunt Tempe! Aunt Tempe!" Came the calls of two girls through the door.

Booth stirred slightly at the disruption of silence. Brennan made no indication of hearing the girls' calls at all. Booth found his bearings after opening his eyes and experiencing a little disorientation in the new environment. Once he fully realized where he was and who was still calling his wife's name, he decided to have a little fun with the still sleeping-like-a-log anthropologist.

"Door's open, girls!" Booth called from inside. Brennan groaned beside him. She loved her nieces, really, but Brennan was still really tired.

That was all the invitation they needed to barge in and run toward the couple sleeping on the large fluffy beach themed bed.

"Aunt Tempe! Happy Twenty-two weeks!" The girls chanted over and over again.

"Bones. Psst," Booth got near her ear and blew air lightly across it to move the hair around her ear just enough to tickle her and send the hairs on the back of her neck to stand straight out and send shivers down her spine at the tickly sensation. "Wake up, Bones. The girls have brought you something that looks suspiciously like chocolate chip pancakes."

Brennan's eyes flew open to find herself staring into the two brown eyes looking down into hers from above.

"Am I aloud to have that? More importantly, am I allowed to have the syrup that you know I'll want to drown it in?" She asked her husband.

"Daddy said to make sure to tell you that everything we fixed this morning will be healthy for you. He made a special trip to the store this morning before everyone woke up, just to make sure we had things that you could have," Emma relayed the message from her father, who was actually now standing in the doorway watching his girls tell their aunt and uncle good morning.

"Russ, you didn't have to do that. I can eat regular things; I just have to be careful, that's all. In fact, some of the sugar free products are worse for you than just eating less of the real thing."

"Hey, that's okay. We needed more coffee this morning and Amy forgot to pick it up at the store yesterday. So it was no trouble to get a few extra things, just to make sure. Anyways, you guys should come and get it while it's still hot."

"Yeah! Come on, Aunt Tempe. Uncle Seeley, let's go!" each girl grabbed hold of one of their hands and they were both pulled until they were up and walking toward the kitchen.

"Luke and Amy are still asleep, or should I say finally asleep. Luke had a rough night. He didn't sleep too much after three-thirty," Russ explained the lack of Amy and Luke's presence this morning.

Booth and Brennan sat at the little breakfast nook where their plates were currently being filled with pancakes by the girls who took it upon themselves to fix plates for everyone.

"Thank you girls so much." Brennan told them. "Booth, I need to go to the bathroom and take my medicines and check my blood sugar before we eat. I'll be right back." She turned to kiss him briefly, before turning to walk briskly back towards the bathroom to relieve herself.

She passed by the open door of the nursery and peeked in to see Amy asleep in an oversized rocker with the baby cradled closely on her chest.

When she returned to the table, Booth had already gotten a decent head start on his food. He'd even poured her some orange juice and picked out some of her favorite fruits out of a bowl to have with her pancakes.

She sat down next to him, placed her hand on his thigh, and squeezed appreciatively.

Then a thought hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Booth," she leaned over a whispered. "I didn't ever hear the baby cry last night, at all. What if I don't hear ours? What if I'm horrible at knowing when I'm needed? What if our babies need me, and I don't hear them?" She asked, starting to panic. In her panic she let the words indicating the plurality of their situation slip out.

Booth couldn't care less about the tiny slip or the fact that their revelation plan had been tanked the moment it left her mouth. All he cared about was calming her down. "Bones, listen to me." He scooted closer to her as a slack-jawed Russ and two wide-eyed girls looked on. He took her cheeks in-between his palms, "Temperance, look at me." Only when she did, did he continue, "Temperance, you will hear our babies just fine. Russ and Amy had the baby monitor in their room. Our room is not next to the nursery, nor did we have that little aid to help you hear them. When we have ours, we will have one, too. Okay? Besides, we'll have two little guys screaming at the top of their lungs for their mommy. Two will be louder than one. I think it's safe to say, if one cries, they'll both be crying. You'll also have me to help make sure they are taken care of. Remember, you're not alone in this."

At her nod, he kissed her forehead and circled his hand over her back as he stood to sit and continue his breakfast. Once seated he was greeted with three sets of curious eyes staring at them from the other side of the table plus Max standing over by the coffee pot looking on.

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag." Booth said under his breath.

"Hey dad, what's the largest cat species?" Hayley asked Russ.

"I think it's probably the tiger, right dad?" He asked Max, his eyes never leaving his sister's teary blues.

Max thought for a second, "Yeah, the Siberian Tiger, actually."

"Well, I think it's safe to say the Siberian Tiger's out of the bag." Hayley said.

"That's no kidding." Russ replied, still in shock. After another moment, "There's really two in there?" He pointed with his fork to Brennan's abdomen.

She nodded.

"Jesus, Tempe; you don't do anything half-assed do you?" He said with a big smile.

"No she doesn't," Booth agreed, lacing his fingers with hers where they rested on the table next to her plate.

"Were you going to tell us, because what just happened there didn't look intentional."

"Well we just found out this week, so it isn't like we've been harboring this secret for months or anything." Brennan said defensively.

"But we did, briefly, want to try to keep it a secret," Booth confessed.

"Dad, you don't look surprised." Russ commented on the fact that the old man just stood there sipping his coffee with no real reaction to this bit of detail. He wasn't just going to get one grandchild out of the deal; he was getting two!

"I found out yesterday."

"You told him, but not me? Tempe, I'm wounded!" Russ said, not able to keep a straight face.

"Cut it out, Russ. You were never able to guilt me into apologizing when we were little, and it still doesn't work. We didn't exactly tell dad anything. He said something, took one look at us, and guessed."

"Honestly, honey, I don't know how Booth keeps his job at the FBI if an old con like me can read him that easily," Max teased. "Should be cake for them younger fellows trying to stay ahead of the game."

"Daddy, what's an old con?" Hayley asked.

The silence was deafening among the adults for a few minutes. Emma knew the answer to that one. She was old enough to understand, but she didn't say anything that would ruin her grandfather's image in her eyes. She had requested that her parents be more honest with her after Russ' release from prison a few years back. She knew that something was up when they visited the trailer that one Christmas. She called them out on it stating that it was weird that she couldn't see him before or after the party in the trailer. She didn't appreciate being lied to and insisted that Russ and Amy tell her the truth. When they did, she was guarded around him for a few days before it wore off, and she treated him normally again. What had happened in the past did not change who Russ was to her, and it didn't change her views of Max either. They were good people, and she could see that.

She surprised the adults by providing the simple explanation to her little sister without getting too into details.

"It's just something grandpa used to do; kind of like a job or a hobby."

"Oh, okay," was the simple reply.

Max took a huge gulp of coffee before returning to the counter to pour more into his thermos. "I hate to run so soon, but I really need to get going. I don't want to keep Susie waiting."

"Who's Susie?" Brennan asked with a furrowed brow, having a suspicion, but not fully trusting her gut as Booth would.

Max looked to his daughter, only now realizing that he hadn't told her yet. He looked to Booth, who looked like he was on panic alert, poised to step in and calm her down if needed.

"Temperance? Come in here to the other room for a second?" Max asked his daughter.

She warily stood to follow him into the living room. Booth stood to follow as well.

"It's okay, Booth. I just need to talk to her. I'll call you in here if she needs you."

Booth reluctantly sat back down, watching his wife follow her father into the living room, knowing what was about to be revealed to her. He wished he could be there for her, but Max appeared to desperately need this time alone with her. While he waited, he mashed the remaining bits of his pancake around with his fork.

"Dad, Uncle Seeley's playing with his food," Hayley whispered as she tapped her hand on Russ' arm.

.

"Honey, Susie is the woman I've been seeing in Raleigh for the last few months."

"A few months? You're just now telling me?"

"I guess, I don't know. I…I think I just thought that maybe you'd think I'm trying to replace your mother."

"That's ludicrous, dad. I loved mom, but she isn't here anymore. Booth would tell me that what matters is that she's in my heart. I would imagine that would apply to you as well. I cannot expect you to stay alone for the rest of your life. I'd been alone longer than I care to think about, before I met Booth. It really sucks to be alone. All I ask is that you never let go of your love for mom."

"Never." He said running his fingers through her hair and pushing it back behind her ears.

"Good." She said giving him a hug. He placed his hands on her stomach just relishing in the feel of hold his daughter in his arms for a few minutes before pulling away.

"Really? That's it? I think I was expecting a hissy fit of some kind."

"Dad, I do not throw hissy fits!"

"Well, you used to. Knock-down-drag-out-throw-yourself-to-the-floor-and-scream-bloody-murder-til-you-turned-purple kind of hissy fits."

"Did not!"

"Did too; ask Russ," he teased her on the way back into the kitchen, thoroughly pleased that their talk had gone much better than anticipated. Who knew how his pistol of a daughter would have reacted to the news that her father was seeing someone? Her reaction was certainly not one he'd anticipated. He'd expected her to see it as a betrayal of his love for her mother. He asked himself when she had gotten so insightful, but the question didn't linger long as he realized that the reason, himself, was sitting at the table waiting for her to rejoin him.

"Ask me what?"

"About her hissy fits that she used to throw when she was little."

This thought and mental image amused Booth. She saw the smile on his face and smacked the back of his head playfully.

"Hey!"

"Oh, thank God she didn't do that!" Russ agreed.

"At least she doesn't go Chuck Norris on your ass when you say or do the wrong thing." Booth said, in light of the playful smack and the memory of the smack down in the middle of the lab that happened not too long ago. Booth regaled the story from that day, which sent everyone into huge bouts of laughter and the girls were in giggles rolling around on the floor.

* * *

**Fun Fact: I'm related to Chuck Norris. I've always known this, but a few weeks ago when spending time with family after the death of my Papa everyone was sitting around telling stories. My grandmother told us about how Chuck's mom, Wilma, actually bought my Papa's wedding rings for them. He was one of her favorite nephews and spoiled him rotten. Her family had also really took great care of him over the last eleven years or so every time he went out to Arizona to see his top tier cardiologist. **

**I will hopefully get the next update for "She Isn't Enough" posted either tomorrow or Tuesday.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	47. Maternal Instincts

With Max gone back to Raleigh and the girls out in the yard playing with some neighborhood friends, Booth sat around the living room with Russ and Amy after lunch. Brennan remained standing near the loveseat Booth occupied. She had just informed Amy that she was expecting twins.

"Well, that certainly explains your size," came her response. "I just know that I've been pregnant three times and I hadn't ever been that big until much later."

"Dad says he told her that she looked seven months pregnant, instead of five," Russ commented.

"He said that? She does not," Amy tried to sooth Brennan as Russ' comment looked to have ruffled a few feathers. "She does look bigger than five months, but seven is pushing it."

"Dr. Matthews says that given the new revelation, that my size is normal to that of a twin pregnancy. He said that I had always been within normal range for a single pregnancy before, albeit the high side of normal, but with the growth spurt that the babies went through the past couple of weeks, he said that it put me well out of the normal range for the gestational age which is what raised the suspicion of twins."

"Babe? Are you going to sit?" Booth asked, taking her hand, that he could reach, into his to pull her over closer to the seat.

"No, I find that I would be highly uncomfortable to sit right now after eating. I just need about half-an-hour first." Brennan replied, moving closer, but not sitting as Booth tugged her over.

"Your feet will start hurting." He told her, stating what had been the result of standing for any length of time for the past couple of weeks.

"It's a good thing I've got an expert foot massager for a husband. I'm fine to stand. I stand at work, hunched over a lab table, which is a lot harder than what I'm doing right now."

"Would you rather lay down?" He asked her, pushing because he didn't want her feet to hurt since she could be quite whiny when that happened.

"Not really. I want to visit with family."

"We have all week; it won't hurt to take a load off for a little bit."

"I'll be fine in a few minutes, just le—"

"Uh, how about this," Amy interrupted, not wanting the petty argument to turn into something else, "We'll switch seats. Tempe, you and Booth come take the couch, and Russ and I will take the love seat. That way, if you want to lay down you can stay out here with us."

"That sounds good, Thanks."

"How long does Lucas normally sleep in the afternoons?" Booth asked as he pulled Brennan's feet into his lap after sitting at the end of the couch with her feet.

"Assuming one of the girls doesn't wake him up with loud noises or talking, usually, two to three hours," Russ said. "His sleeping patterns are really just now regulating a little now that people aren't dropping by to see the baby so much."

Booth ran his fingers gently over his wife's skin, causing her to giggle a little before giving him a little warning kick to the gut to make his touch a little heavier and less ticklish. He took the hint and gently massaged his knuckles into the fleshy pad of her foot.

The little noises of pleasure coming from her as he worked her feet left Booth struggling to keep his cool in front of her family.

"A lot of visitors?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah, lots. We came home after two days in the hospital with non-stop visitors. We've been home for a week now. Dad stayed here and helped, but mostly friends and people we work with would come see us and the baby. Some of them without notice, you know how that can be. It's died down a lot though."

"I hope we don't get bombarded with visitors," Booth said wryly, knowing damn well that with their status within the bureau and public eye, they were going to not only get visitors, but some of them were likely to be unwelcome.

"I've got _dubs_ on him when he wakes up," Brennan called from the other end of the couch, effectively changing the subject and causing amused looks around the room. She definitely wasn't receptive to the idea of visitors after birthing two human beings out of her...

"_Dibs_," all three chimed at the same time.

"You've got _dibs_ on him, and I was asking when he was going to wake up so that _I_ could hold him." Booth told her, patting her foot to let her know to switch so the other foot could get the same treatment.

"No, me first; you may have asked when he was going to wake up, but I actually called it."

"That's not fair."

"Sure it is. Besides, I get three votes, which means I win."

"Three? How do you justify that one?"

They continued their banter as if no one else was there, much to the other couple's amusement.

"One for each person. One for me and one for each baby. When I hold Luke, I have no choice but to let him rest on my belly, which houses two little people. The babies and I would like to spend some time with my nephew."

"Tempe, don't be stingy with Luke," Russ intervened. "Amy and I wanted to ask you guys a favor. I know we talked about getting you guys some practice, how would you feel about doing that tonight? And then again tomorrow? I want to take Amy out for a nice dinner tonight, and tomorrow there is a movie playing at the old theater downtown that we'd like to go to. I start back to work on Monday, so now's the perfect time."

"We'd love to Russ." Booth answered at the same time Brennan asked, "Tonight, a-and tomorrow?" as the idea suddenly scared the hell out of her.

"Oh, come on, Tempe. It'll be good." Russ added, "It's just for a couple of hours each time, and the girls will be here to show you were things are if you need them."

"You're a natural with Parker, and you were with Andy, too," her husband put his two cents in after understanding her sudden nervousness.

"Booth, I've already said that with Andy it was different because he wasn't as small as Luke is, and Parker is ten, it's easy to take care of such a well raised little boy."

"I'll be here. We'll do this together, just like we do everything else. Come on, Bones."

The conversation was brought to a halt as the subject of their conversation woke and gave a shrill wail of discontent.

"Temperance, would you like to give it a try now, while we're still here?" Amy asked.

Brennan had already sat up from her reclined position. She looked at Booth, who smiled and told her this was her chance to show herself that she could do it, and then she nodded to Amy as she stood and headed back towards the nursery.

Brennan hesitated as she neared the entrance of the room, she sighed heavily and with a new determination, she walked in with an air of confidence suddenly washing over her. She had read that babies are able to pick up on uneasy feelings and nervousness. She wasn't so sure that such a small being with the lack of cognitive development and autonomic responses and actions could actually pick up on something as intangible as feelings, but rather than take her chances, she resolved to tamp down her uncertainty of her skills.

"Luke," she called into the room, immediately chastising herself for calling out to him as if he could respond.

Then, she figured that her voice might have a soothing effect on the crying infant. "Lucas James, you can cease the crying now. Your favorite aunt is here." She rolled her eyes at herself. "Of course I'm your favorite. I'm your only aunt. Your mom's brothers don't have any wives and I'm your dad's only sister."

She sighed after her little rambling speech and mumbled under her breath, "This is ridiculous."

Then a little louder and more soothingly, "Luke, baby, what's the matter." She picked the crying newborn up from the crib. She placed a light kiss to the baby's hair, breathing his sweet scent in. She couldn't help but feel a swell in her heart as she thought of her impending motherhood and the anticipation the simple scent and feel of the soft warm baby brought her.

She frowned as she noticed that he was still red and crying after she'd picked him up. She walked over to the changing table and checked his diaper.

"Oh, little man, that is…that's gross." She'd changed diapers before when they'd had temporary custody of Andy after he swallowed evidence, and she'd even helped Parker when he was younger and had an accident every once in a while. None of those times had been while pregnant. She gagged slightly, earning her a concerned call from her husband, "Is everything okay in there?"

"Yeah, dirty diaper." She called back.

She heard Russ say, "Oh, yeah; those can be really bad. It's like tar right now."

"No kidding," she said to herself. She cleaned his little bottom off and then put the tiny little diaper on him. She inspected her work to make sure there would be no leaks. _Not bad._

He'd quieted down some since being changed, but he was still acting a little fussy. "I bet you're hungry, huh? Yeah, but I can't help you with that one."

She settled the baby on her shoulder and headed for the living room, where everyone else sat calmly watching the hockey game that she assumed Booth had talked Russ into turning on.

"I just changed him, but I think he's hungry. That's your thing, Amy." Brennan said holding him out to his mother.

"Actually, you hang on to him for a few minutes. I've got some milk that I've pumped in the fridge. Let me go get it ready so you can see how it will work when I'm not here for his feeding tonight and tomorrow. Sometimes getting him to take a bottle instead of what he's used to can be tricky." She got up quickly and went to the kitchen to warm up the milk.

Russ continued to explain, "If he doesn't take to the bottle, you may have to stick your finger right below his bottom lip and massage or tap his chin. It'll irritate him and get him to open his mouth, once he gets the taste of the milk, he'll be more receptive to it. He just doesn't like the artificial nipples."

"Don't blame him there. Real ones are always better." _Great, did that really just come out of your mouth. Now Russ is going to think you're nothing more than a perv._

Booth's comment surprised even himself and earned him an elbow in the ribs from his wife.

"You could at least wait until we are not in the company of my brother to make a comment like that."

"Now who's the prude?" He asked, covering his own embarrassment from his words.

She gave him an indignant look that caused his playful smile to falter; yep, she saw through it.

Amy walked in with a bottle of breast milk and handed it to Brennan. "Did Russ explain how to get him to take it?"

"Yes." Brennan cradled the baby against her chest swaddled tightly in his blanket and she held the bottle to his little puckered mouth. He was not going to take it easily. He kept moving his mouth as far away from the bottle as possible. Brennan did as Russ told her and took her index finger and tapped Luke's chin, which irritated him enough to open his mouth wide enough to slip the nipple of the bottle in and once he got a taste of what was being offered he took to it, eyes immediately rolling closed as he began to suckle the bottle.

"See, Bones; you're a natural. Besides, with ours it'll be easier for you than it is for me. They will have the instinct to bond to your breasts, _lucky kids_, and then I will have the hard work of having to try to get them to take a bottle when all they really want is your warmth."

"Her job will be far from easy, Booth," Russ said, from only a little over a week's experience with Amy's problems. "She'll be tender and sore, so much so, that she isn't going to let you touch her. And even if you do get to touch her, she'll leak."

"Not to mention the fact that her nipples will get dry and chapped and possibly cracked," Amy added. "While breastfeeding is an incredible experience, it can be painful and hard on the mother. It isn't for everybody; that's for sure. There's so much that you have to do for yourself to maintain the breastfeeding."

"I would at least like to give it a try. It is so much healthier, and I think I would endure anything to make sure our babies have the best," Brennan told the others.

"I want that, too. Will you…you know, be able to feed two babies?" Booth asked, feeling stupid, and fairly certain that he'd left that open for her to make him feel more so.

"I have two breasts, Booth."

Of course. He knew that was coming. He should have realized he needed to word his concern better using a more specific question.

"I am very aware that you have two, Bones." _Two very spectacular and delicious boobs, I might add._ "I just meant, can you produce enough…supply," he gestured towards her breasts, "in those to feed both babies?"

"Sure. My body will be able to respond to the demand and be able to produce what is necessary to accommodate both babies."

"How much has he eaten, Tempe?" Amy asked.

She removed the bottle from the baby's mouth. "Looks like almost two ounces," She said holding it up where she could see the lines indicating the amount of milk in the bottle.

"Time to burp," Russ said. He walked over to his sister and sat on the opposite side from where Booth sat. "Here's what you're going to do now. Supporting his head, you're going to sit him on your knee, leaning him forward with one hand on his upper chest and neck and cradling his face and head between your thumb and index fingers. Then just pat his back with the other hand."

"I thought you were supposed lay him against your shoulder to do that, or at least that's how we did it for Parker." Booth commented. He'd never seen it done this way, and honestly, it looked uncomfortable for little Lucas.

"This is how they showed us at the hospital," Amy told him. "That's how I did it with Hayley and Emma, but they told us that there are many techniques, and that it doesn't really matter. They just teach it this way because if the baby spits up, then it won't end up on your shoulder."

"Good to know, huh, Bones?"

"Yep. I would very much prefer to keep baby vomit off of my shoulder."

Luke let out a little burp, followed quickly by a tiny bit of regurgitated milk.

"Whoa, little man! You're supposed to keep that stuff in the tummy." Booth grabbed the rag from Brennan's knee and cleaned the baby and Bones' hand off. "Should she feed him the rest of the bottle if he's spitting up like that?" Booth asked as Brennan moved to replace Luke atop her stomach and close to her chest to finish feeding him.

"It won't hurt. He isn't going to spit it all up. Besides, it's normal for babies to spit up a little. He didn't even throw up that much just then," Amy assured him. "He is used to the resistance of the breast, but with a bottle he feeds much faster, even with the slow flow nipples we bought. Sometimes it just upsets his stomach to feed that fast since he doesn't do it very often. He's used to the breast."

"Okay, I think it's high time we put the kibosh on the breast talk, huh?" Booth said. He'd been okay to talk about it for a few minutes, but the conversation seemed to go on-and-on. He was okay with the natural process of breastfeeding, but truth-be-told, the topic made him think of his Bones' ample breasts in a less innocent way. And watching her maternal instinct kick in, he really couldn't help his body's more visceral response. He just hoped no one else really noticed.

That hope was dashed when Brennan looked at him sitting next to her and her eyes darkened with a promise of _later_. She could see all of his subtle signs that he was aroused.

"So, how should we take the chill off of the milk from the fridge?" Booth asked, trying to keep his mind out of the gutter.

"Just set it out for a bit or sit the bottle in warm water. They need to be about body temperature or slightly cooler."

"That's not too complicated. What about the girls?" Booth asked.

"They won't be much of a bother. Just gotta feed them and usually they entertain each other. I'd suggest ordering a pizza. Hayley is going through a picky-eater phase." Russ instructed. He thought for another second, "Can you have Pizza, Tempe?"

"Yes, I can have normal things in moderation. What kind of toppings do they like?"

"Well," Amy began, "Hayley won't eat anything but just cheese with light sauce, and Emma will eat almost anything except bell peppers and onions. She likes mushrooms pepperoni and sausage."

"Okay, that clashes with what Bones and I normally get, so we'll figure that out later when they are inside to help us choose."

Brennan sat the baby up and burped him again, this time successfully without spit up and she went to go lay him back in his crib. As she walked into the baby's room she called back out into the living room, "Babe, I'm going to lay down and take a nap for a little bit. I'm tired."

"Okay."

A few minutes passed by and then he decided to go back into their room to lay by her.

He slid into bed next to her scooting up to her backside and nuzzled her neck and the back of her head. He kissed her earlobe and spoke softly, "You have the amazing ability to turn me on at the most inopportune times."

"Mhm, and I promise that later we'll have some time alone, but right now, I'm resting so that we can take care of the kids and then have enough energy for you later."

"Okay, I'll let you rest. I'm just going to lay next to you for a while and rest my own eyes."

"Shhh."

"Okay."

**B&B**

Brennan awoke to a pair of soft warm lips to her brow. Not her husband's, she could tell. She opened her eyes to see Russ leaning over her slightly with his hand resting lightly on her stomach.

"You shouldn't sleep on your back, Tempe."

"You sound like Booth." She looked next to her where he had been prior to her falling asleep. "Where is he?"

"He's out in the living room playing the Wii with the girls."

She noticed her brother's attire. "Oh, are you guys ready to leave already?"

"Yes, you slept for four hours."

"I had no intention of sleeping all afternoon." She sat up and moved to stand. She steadied herself on Russ' arm. "Whoa, stood too fast. I hate that feeling."

"Don't worry about sleeping too much. You needed it, or it wouldn't have happened."

"You're right. Where are you guys going tonight?"

"We're just going to go to this tiny Italian place that I can't pronounce. It's formal and intimate. It's where I proposed to her, and then we might go dancing if she isn't too tired."

"I hope you have a nice time."

Russ and Brennan walked out into the hallway. Brennan made a hasty retreat into the bathroom.

"She's awake," he told Booth, entering the room and grabbing Amy's coat from the back of the couch. He called into the kitchen, "Amy, are we ready to go?"

"Just a second, I'm making sure they have all of the emergency numbers they may need. I'm putting them on the refrigerator." A few seconds later, she emerged from the kitchen. "Okay, now I'm ready."

Russ helped her put on her coat before putting his own on. "We won't be too late. Hayley's bedtime is eight-thirty, and Emma's is nine-thirty. They know the drill: eat, bath time, and settle down for the night until it's bedtime."

"Okay, you guys have a nice evening," Booth said as they shut the door.

Brennan came out from the bathroom and settled into Booth's side on the couch for a few minutes before he heard her stomach grumble.

"Hungry?" He asked laughing at the ferocious noise that emanated from her.

"Very."

"We should probably figure out what kind of pizzas we're going to get."

The girls were still taking turns on the Wii, but at the mention of dinner, the game was paused and forgotten as they rushed over to the couple on the couch bombarding them with their likes and dislikes.

"Whoa, girls; one at a time, please. Let's start with Hayley." Booth said, already knowing what she would pick because Russ had already told him. He just wanted the girls to feel like they were helping.

"Cheese," she replied quickly and excitedly while bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Light on the sauce, right?" Booth asked.

"Yep. I don't like sauce that much."

Booth wrote down what she wanted on his notepad. "Okay, Em, what do you like?"

"I want Canadian Bacon and pineapple."

"Oh, that sounds good, Booth." Brennan said immediately, approving of Emma's choice.

"Okay, that makes it easy." He tossed his pen and pad of paper down on the coffee table. "Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to order two pizzas; one just cheese, light on the sauce," he winked at Hayley, causing her to giggle, "I'll share it with her, and then we can get a Canadian bacon and pineapple pizza for Emma and Bones. Will that work?"

He received three grins and nodding heads. Brennan stood to get the phonebook and her phone. She handed them to Booth and he placed the call. Just as he was about to hang up she yelled at him to not hang up yet.

"I want some Garlic bread, with extra cheese."

"Just a second, please," Booth told the person on the other end of the phone. "Bones, if I get that, then you need to watch how much of it you eat."

"I know."

"Okay, I could use some garlic bread, and I'm sure the girls won't complain, either." He took his finger off of the mic on the phone and told the girl still waiting on the other end of the line that he wanted to add to his order.

**B&B**

"I still can't believe you ate a meatless meal." Brennan said, teasing the chin of a cranky hungry little baby Luke.

"Yeah, well, you ate cooked fruit." Booth said as he sat behind her on the couch, allowing her to lean on him as she cradled the baby in her arms. He rubbed her shoulders and causing her to melt into him.

"It was different than pie, Booth. The pineapple wasn't sweetened with heaping amounts of sugar nor was it stewed in some sickly sweet syrup. I've always liked cooked pineapples. I especially love them grilled."

"Me too," Booth agreed, "Had I known, we would have it more often. I love putting grilled pineapple on a hamburger. I don't think I've done that since we've lived together."

"Oh, that sounds good, too. We're are going to have to do that when we get back home, or maybe you and Russ can make it for everyone this week?"

"I'll bring it up."

Brennan spoke again, changing the subject, "I think it's probably time to get the girls their baths and then send Hayley to bed."

"You're right," he said looking to his wristwatch. "Okay, Hayhay, time to go get in the bath."

"Aw, do I have to?"

"Aw, do you want to smell like a little boy?" Booth teased.

"Ew, no!" She ran to her bedroom to get her clothes and a towel from the hall closet before starting her bath.

"That was easier than it usually is," commented Emma as she stroked the silky hair on her baby brother's head. "It normally takes forever."

"Bones, hand me Lucas, and I'll finish feeding him. You should probably go put some towels down on the bathroom floor."

"Why?"

"There's a little girl in a bathtub, and well, it might as well be a swimming pool."

"I don't know what that means."

"Trust me, go put some towels down."

**B&B**

Booth had just sat down from putting several towels in the dryer.

"Are they all asleep?" Booth asked as Brennan emerged from the hallway after coming from putting Lucas down for the night. She joined him on the couch snuggling into his side and nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck.

"I think so."

"You were wonderful, tonight, Bones. Just as I knew you would be," he kissed the side of her head.

"I wish I had known it would go so well. It would have been a little less stressful to think about. Now, I can see that it was quite enjoyable. Russ and Amy have great kids, so it was easy."

"You have watched your nieces before; the only difference this time was the addition of Lucas."

"I suppose, but still it was easy with such great kids. I know Parker's great, but what if the twins are little terrors?" She asked closing her eyes.

"I don't know, Bones. All I can say for sure is that these two little people will be part you and part me, which will automatically make them a force to be reckoned with. That can't be anything less than amazing."

Russ and Amy walked into the house and spotted the couple on the couch relaxing. Booth was stroking his wife's hair as she laid against him with her eyes closed while they talked softly to each other.

Hating to interrupt their moment, Russ spoke softly anyway, "Hey sis. How'd things go?"

"We're exhausted."

"Bones, you've been tired all day. That didn't answer his question."

She kept her position attached to Booth and kept her eyes closed, almost asleep and totally relaxed.

"It went perfectly fine, Russ," Booth answered for her. "Little mama, here, is a natural," he said squeezing her shoulders lightly.

"They all asleep?" Amy asked, fearing that even if they were, little Lucas would wake soon and her nice night would be over.

"Yes, and we just now got Lucas in his room, so there may be some time before you hear from him." Booth replied, noting her sigh of relief. "Bones is already asleep, so we should probably go to our room for the night."

"I think we're going to go to bed early as well. Goodnight, Booth," Russ told his brother-in-law. He kissed the top of his baby sister's head and whispered goodnight to her as well.

"'Night, Amy. Enjoy the rest of your night," Booth said with a knowing smile that caused a slight pinking of her features.

"I intend to. Goodnight."

Booth shifted the woman leaned against him, "Bones, baby, wakeup a little bit so that we can go to bed."

"Nope, good right here," she mumbled into his neck. "Sleepy, sleeping here is good."

_Bones, you are adorable._

"You need to come to bed. A real bed is good, Bones. You won't ever let me sleep on a couch, and I'm not letting you do so either. Besides, don't you need to get up and go pee soon? You haven't done that in what," he looked at his watch, "just shy of an hour."

"I can go longer than an hour!" She said, a little more wakefulness in her tone as she sat up and stood.

Booth stood as well and followed her back towards their room.

Now that she was more awake, he was going to try his hardest to collect on the promise she'd made him earlier in the day.

* * *

**Next chapter will have the week moving along a little since I would like to get them back to their lives and move on to other things.**

**Barring any more complications from RL, I hope to post much sooner. **

**Thank you for your patience.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	48. I'll Give You a Reason

**This one is a lot of filler material, but it is a very emotional one for Brennan and parts of it may seem rushed, but I needed to get them moving back home. Most of the time highlighted during their time at Russ' is the weekend since most of the week would have been spent with the kids at school and Russ at work. There's only so much you can do with that. So, that's why we have a time jump of a few days. But I tried to highlight some things. **

**This is a long one. See you at the other end.**

* * *

The next morning Brennan let Booth sleep in. He'd looked so peaceful as he laid there sprawled out taking up most of the bed. She had been restless and didn't think it would be right to lay there with him and risk waking him up just because she couldn't sleep.

So just before six o'clock, she tiptoed to the bathroom, took care of business and brushed her teeth before checking her blood sugar. For her own peace of mind, she snuck into the baby's room and checked in on him. Seeing him lying there peacefully and sound asleep, she watched him for a few minutes before turning away to leave so that she didn't make a noise and wake him up. Then, she walked out to the kitchen for an early morning snack.

She'd just made herself a big bowl of oatmeal when she looked up to see her brother entering the room looking weary and gruff. His hair was sticking out in several different directions and it was evident by his relaxed posture and gait that was perhaps very revealing of his night's activities. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that it was a little too soon for Amy to be engaging in sexual intercourse so soon after a birth. Then again, she knew that Amy had been through this before and would put herself in danger, and Russ wouldn't knowingly do so either. Maybe the interaction was one sided? Maybe Amy just provided him with a sexual release. Either way, she chose to keep her mouth shut. She remembered Booth telling her once that there were just some things that were just not appropriate to share aloud about some of the things she was prone to notice due to her profession.

She remembered the morning after she and Booth had first made love. It had been awhile since he'd had a sexual relationship with anyone, and the day after she'd told him that she could see by his stature and the way he carried himself that a great tension had been lifted from his body. She remembered how mortified he'd seemed after she said it.

She had a nagging feeling that it would not be entirely proper to mention her observations to her brother. As comfortable with talk about sex as she was, there was just something about the thought of bringing it up with her brother that didn't sit right with her.

So she simply asked him, "Good night?"

He came over and kissed her cheek. "Wonderful," he said with a smile. "How about you?" He asked.

"Very enjoyable. I found watching Luke and the girls to be a very rewarding experience. It was very enlightening. Booth and I have a lot to do in order to ready ourselves for the arrival of our babies. Even more so now that we know there are actually going to be two."

"I can't even imagine," Russ said with a shake of his head. He pulled a package of bacon out of the refrigerator along with some eggs.

"Really, I still can't either. I have no idea how this is going to work. It will definitely take both of our efforts; of that I'm certain."

"You have to have double of everything. It's a good thing you guys aren't hurting for money."

"Yeah, and we have bought a few things, but we haven't known about the twins long enough to have double of anything. Besides, we haven't bought much because we don't have room at home, but we are looking for a house when we get back home."

"That's exciting. Good luck with that. Do you want some bacon?"

"No thanks; I may have gone back to eating meat during this pregnancy, but I draw the line at bacon. The smell alone will be enough to block my arteries as well as the boys here, but would you make some for Booth? I'm sure he will want some when he wakes up."

"Some of what?" Came the voice of her sleepy looking husband as he walked into the kitchen in just his boxers and his normally well-coifed hair sticking out and up. He ran a hand over his scruffy face as he pulled a mug out of the cabinet.

"Bacon." Brother and sister chimed together.

"Of course. Sounds great. Why are you up so early Bones?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Back hurting again?" He set his mug of steaming coffee down on the counter and kissed her.

"Yeah, but mostly I had to pee. I'm sorry if I woke you."

"Nah, don't worry about it. I heard voices and I got cold. My human heater was gone. I was actually thinking about trying to find a church. So, Russ, are there any Catholic churches around here?"

"Not any Catholic churches, but I was going to take the girls to the church down the street; you wanna go?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Amy and the baby are going to stay. You going, sis?"

"No."

"Aw, come on, Bones. You've been coming with me back home."

"Only sometimes, and I only when I feel like it. I'm not going to sit there, uncomfortably, and listen to someone lecture others on how they should live their lives in accordance with a collection of outdated fictional stories while they try to make farfetched attempts to relate the morals to present day life."

_Someone's touchy this morning_, Booth thought.

"Okay," he said simply in reply. "You can keep Amy company and help her out while we're gone."

Russ took some bacon out of the pan and placed it on a plate. "We're still on for you guys watching the kids this afternoon, right? Amy and I really want go to the movies."

"Yes." Brennan said the same time Booth replied, "Absolutely."

"Great. This really means a lot to us. We don't get much time to ourselves. You'll see soon enough. We'll be sure to return the favor when we can."

"Oh, we don't expect you—" Brennan started, but was cut off by her brother's insistence.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tempe. It wouldn't be a bother. We'd love to come spend time with you guys and help out when you need it. Amy and I both have flexile jobs where we could call in on short notice if we're needed. It's a few months away anyway, and by then things here will be settled down enough that if we need to get away we can."

"We've got Jack and Angela if we need someone on short notice."

"…and Cam," Booth offered.

"Yes, Cam too. We appreciate your offer but with the distance—"

"Tempe, don't worry about the distance. Family is worth it. Booth how do you like your eggs?"

**B&B**

The rest of the morning had gone on without a hitch. Everyone who was going to church had gotten up and ready in time to all have breakfast and be out of the door just in time to catch the morning service at the church down the street.

Brennan and Amy had stayed behind with the baby. Amy was still asleep when everyone had left and shortly after baby Lucas had woken up. Brennan heard him start to stir before he woke Amy up, and she went in and took care of him. She shut off the baby monitor so as not to wake his sleeping mother. Brennan figured she would like to get as much sleep as she could possibly steal. Brennan changed the newborn and then swaddled him tightly before carrying him out through the living room to the kitchen.

She went to the refrigerator and pulled out some of the breast milk that was stored in there. She set the container in a warm bowl of water to take the chill from the nourishing liquid. In the mean time, she was content to rock the baby cradled closely to her chest. She placed her lips on the hair of the tiny baby and breathed in his fresh clean powdery scent. Tightness clenched her metaphorical heart. The thought that this child, that was not even hers, could have such an effect on her was overwhelming. What was it going to feel like when she was holding her own children like this? What was it going to be like to breathe in their scent and feel their warm soft skin against hers? What was it going to be like to hold the tangible evidence of her and Booth's love for each other? The perfect combination of her and her partner, twice over. At the moment she was having difficulties even fathoming such an idea, especially since just holding, feeling, and smelling this child that was not even hers was effecting her in such a profound manner. The love felt for this child was almost painful as was her love for Booth.

"Temperance," came the sweet sleepy voice of the child's mother. "Do you have Luke?"

She was broken out of her reverie, and moved to grabbed the warmed milk. "Yes, we're in the kitchen."

"Oh, whew. I just freaked out for a moment there. Okay, everything's fine," she told herself. "I just woke up to a silent house and no baby in the nursery. I just got worried, that's all."

"Oh, I'm sorry if I overstepped."

"No, no. Tempe, you're fine. I just didn't know you didn't go with everyone else to church. Russ told me he was leaving Luke here with me. He didn't mention you would be here, too."

"I just…he was crying and I heard him. I thought that if you could get as much sleep as you could, it wouldn't hurt your feelings. I know that I'm not sleeping all that well, and figured you could at least. Anyway, I changed him and now I'm getting him some of your milk."

"Okay. That's fine. I'll have to pump soon, then. If you breast feed, one thing you'll notice is that in the mornings if you've gone awhile without feeding, then you will be very full and tender. Strangely enough, I really look forward to our peaceful early morning feedings. It's usually just me and him and it really relieves the pressure."

"I'm sorry; I probably should have wakened you then."

"No, stop apologizing. You didn't know, and besides you're doing everything Russ would have done, had it been him getting up with Luke. There's nothing wrong with that. Actually, it helps keep the reserves fresh by using some and replacing it like this."

Brennan was immediately able to get him to respond to the bottle.

"Well, look at that. He loves his aunt Tempe. My sweet boy," she said caressing his soft hair before placing a gentle kiss to the baby's brow. "You're so good with him." She grabbed some containers and the pump and headed for the couch. "Come in here and relax, Temperance."

Brennan followed Amy into the living room where she sat in her brother's oversized leather armchair. She put the feet up on the plush ottoman and reclined back comfortably as the baby continued feeding.

"What movie are you going to see with Russ?"

"We're going to go see a double feature at the old theater downtown. On the weekends they do double features of old films. They're showing _Darling Lili_ starring Julie Andrews and Rock Hudson and _State of the Union_ with Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy and Angela Lansbury."

"Those are both wonderful movies. I loved watching old movies like those with dad. He was an old romantic."

"It must be where Russ gets it from."

"Amy, I'm having a hard time seeing Russ as romantic. In the times where he wasn't protecting me from bullies, he was chasing me with worms and frogs. And although I have no aversion to those or dead things now, back then they petrified me. Not exactly romantic."

"Well, of course not; he's your brother. That'd be weird"

Brennan thought back to the time she'd told Caroline that kissing Booth was like kissing her brother. That had been a big fat lie. She would have never kissed Russ like that. Ever. "Yeah, you're right, really weird, but I do remember times when he was sweet to me because I was his baby sister, and he never really brought any girls home that I could remember. But being almost five years older than me, he was bound to be out doing things that I had no knowledge of."

"I don't see Russ as the womanizing type either. When we first started seeing each other he was actually somewhat shy and reserved and, like you said, sweet. It was very refreshing. He made romantic gestures, but perhaps the thing that drew me to him more than anything was the fact that he made an effort with the girls from the very beginning. No one else had ever cared to do that. I could see he had real family values. It was also a real plus that he hadn't used any lame pickup lines. What about Booth? How did you two come to be together? Is he really romantic?"

Speaking quietly to not disturb the baby drifting off in her arms Brennan smiled as she spoke, "Booth is the biggest sap you'll ever meet." Amy looked at her with disbelief. "Really; it's true, but how we first met, it's a really long story, and I wouldn't say there was anything romantic about it. Booth would call it a minor miracle we didn't kill each other at first."

"Oh?"

"We did not get along. Booth had never really been partnered up with anyone, and he really resented the fact that when he had to be paired up to get help on a case that it was with a scientist and her team instead of another agent. He doubted my abilities. The first thing he did was purposefully withheld information to test me to see if I figured it out. I think I impressed him when I presented him with all the facts that he'd left out."

"So you solved the case?"

"Yes, but that was just the beginning test, we hadn't even gotten to the investigation yet. Very long story short, we did solve the case, but along the way we stepped all over each other's toes, said some things and I hit him, and didn't see him again for a year. And that was only because he'd had me detained with Homeland Security after I returned from a trip to Guatemala."

"Oh my; you're kidding, right?"

"No. You know that belt buckle he wears?" At Amy's nod, Brennan continued, "Describes his personality to the very foundation of who he is. After I blackmailed him into letting me into the field with him, we solved that case, after which he arrested me for shooting someone. We continued to work cases together, butting heads several times along the way."

"But how did all of that grow into romance?" Amy asked her sister-in-law, absolutely flabbergasted that after all of that, that two people who were clearly so polar opposite could end up falling in love. It was unlike anything she'd ever heard of. Russ had certainly not told her any of Temperance's background of her personal life other than the part that she knew about their parents because of her involvement in Russ' life. She suspected that Russ had no idea that his sister and her husband had such a history together. All she really knew for sure was that they were just partners before letting the relationship go public within the last couple of months.

"Well, we were just partners for almost six years before anything romantic started between us. First, I think we grew to mutually respect what we each brought to the partnership, and then we grew fiercely protective of what we have together, especially after one of Booth's old FBI buddies kidnapped me. I think that's when I first noticed how much I trusted Booth and really realized how much he would do to protect me. Then he helped me through the time when we found out that my mother's remains had been locked away in deep bone storage at the Jeffersonian for approximately the same amount of time that I had been employed there. It was unnerving to have had her that close to me all that time and not know. Then Booth helped me with Russ and dad. Booth's the only one I had ever really let into that part of my life. He respected me enough to know when I needed him to do something for me and when to back off. Overall, though, I think the moment that I realized that I absolutely could not live without him in my life in some form was when the bureau faked his death and I was not notified that it wasn't real."

Tears had formed in Brennan's eyes, and she had no idea that as she had been talking the subject of her affectionate words had walked in the door with her brother close to the beginning of her account of the progression of their relationship. She didn't hear the entry and continued talking softly to Amy.

"For two weeks, I thought he was dead. I was so angry. He had taken a bullet that was meant for me, and he had _died_. I was mad at him for jumping in the way of the bullet. Mad at the woman who shot him. Mad at myself for not noticing her standing there with a gun before I heard the gunshot and saw him hit the ground. I was mad at his god, a god I don't even believe in," Brennan practically spat getting agitated, but quickly calming down as she remembered the baby in her arms. "I was mad that if such a being existed in this world or some other that something like that would have been allowed to happen to such a good honorable faithful man. I was mad that I was never going to get to tell him how I felt. And when I found out that all of that pain and anguish I felt had been false and had been wrongly forced upon me I was mad at him all over again for a different kind of betrayal. And I was mad at everyone involved. I was mad at those who were allowed to know that he was alive for knowing. I struck him at his own funeral."

"You hit him?"

"He faked his death, Amy. I didn't know how else to respond. I think I might have needed the physical assurance that he was really there; I really don't know, but I was definitely mad that I had not been told he was alive."

Booth and Russ were still standing in the entryway, seemingly frozen in time as they listened to Brennan speak. The girls had opted to stay outside to play for a little bit.

"Well, obviously that was resolved though."

"Yes," Brennan said laughing lightly at the memory of their conversation in Booth's bathroom. Booth was hanging his head, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't…

Oh, but she did.

"I was so pissed, I broke into Booth's apartment using his spare key and barged in on him in the bathtub wearing a beer helmet, reading a comic, oh excuse me, a _graphic novel_, while smoking a cigar and balancing a rubber ducky on his knee."

Amy couldn't contain herself, and Russ wasn't doing much better as he gained a glare from the mortified agent.

"We argued and he got angry and stood, forgetting the fact that he was naked, but yes we did resolve the issue as not being his fault. He told me he had put me on the list of people he wanted to be notified that he was really alive, but our twelve year old headshrinker," Booth beamed proudly at her description of their therapist, "he took it upon himself to take me off of that list because he said my reactions wouldn't have been believable had I been privy to the truth."

"Your actions and descriptions tell me you were aware of your love for him even back then. I'm not trying to take sides here," Amy quickly defended herself, "but if that is indeed true, you would have had a hard time portraying the proper amount of grief for losing someone you loved. It sounds to me that they had a good reason to fake his death and make it believable. While I think it's wrong you had to go through that, I think I can see that maybe things wouldn't have worked out with capturing that guy had you been told."

"That didn't make it hurt any less. Truth be told, I cannot recall the time that I actually realized that I was in love with Booth, but…"

Booth chose this moment to interrupt. "It doesn't matter when, Bones." He came up behind the chair she was in and leaned down to her ear. Nibbling on her earlobe, he spoke softly with emotion thickening his voice in her ear, "You amaze me more every single day, Temperance."

Booth stood up to full height and brought his hands to his wife's shoulders to gently massage the tension away as he continued their story.

"All these waterworks and she hadn't even gotten to the part where our twelve year old headshrinker," he shook her shoulders lovingly, "wrote a book about how in love we were with each other before we had even realized our love was mutual. He pushed me into thinking that it was a good idea to ask Bones to give us a shot, and well, that didn't end well. We came to our senses a few weeks later at a dance. There was quite a bit of hurt before we got things right between us. That's the reader's digest version, but that's our story. What prompted story time anyway, Bones?"

"Well, we were sitting here while I fed Luke from a bottle and she needed to pump. We were talking and she asked."

"I just realized that I really didn't know the story between you two," Amy provided. "Russ has told me a few things, but not much, and I figured he just didn't know much else. I was curious. I didn't mean to start the emotional roller coaster that you guys walked in on, but it's a good story. I had no idea. When I met the both of you, it was clear you were close. I had no idea that you two had such a rocky start."

"That might be putting it mildly," Booth admitted. "Hey look at you, Bones. All cozy with Lucas. Such a peaceful little man."

"Booth, could you take him? I'd like to get a nap in before we're left with the kids this afternoon. This has been a hormonal morning."

"Actually," Russ stepped up, "I'll take him and you can both go relax for a little bit. Tempe, let Booth take care of you for a little bit." He swooped down and took his son and held him close.

"Come on Bones, whole body massage coming right up." Booth said clapping his hands together in his usual impatience.

"Booth, those usually make me sleep for hours afterwards, and I want to be able to help this afternoon," she said standing anyway.

"Looks like you helped this morning. You didn't sleep very well last night; you need this. Come on," he took her hand and guided her to walk in front of him before placing both his hands down on her sides to guide her. "If you happen to sleep all day, I've got it covered. Don't worry."

"Hey Tempe?"

Booth and Brennan turned back to look at Amy.

"Before you go, there's a large body pillow on our bed if you want to use it. I always found it helpful to sleep on my side and drape myself over the pillow. It might be worth a try for you."

"Thanks, I'll try it." Brennan backtracked a little to the door of the master bedroom and grabbed the large pillow from the bed and took it with her to the guest room where Booth had already started changing into some more comfortable clothes from his church attire.

Brennan tested out the pillow. "Oh my; oh, Booth," Brennan groaned in relief of finally being able to be somewhat comfortable. "I _need_ one of these. How do I not have one already?"

Booth started with his wife's left foot, "I'm not sure why you don't have one, but if you want one, I don't see why not. We can go get you one before we go to sleep tonight that way Amy can have hers back." He moved his hands up to her calf.

"That sounds like a good plan. So, I'm curious; how much did you and Russ hear? I know you at least heard all the way back to calling Sweets a twelve year old headshrinker."

"Brilliantly used, by the way. I'd give you some knuckles, but I'm kinda busy down here."

"Well, I don't think I can move right now anyway. I _really_ need one of these pillows."

"We'll get you one."

"And you didn't answer my question."

He moved back down to her right foot and massaged her tiny bones and flesh with his big hands.

"Right, well, I just didn't want to embarrass you or make you withdraw or bring back the waterworks. That's all, but if you insist."

"I do."

"Let's just say that I do think it is a minor miracle that we didn't kill each other at first."

"That much?" She half murmured.

"Yep, but don't worry. Every bit of it was true and I couldn't have told it better myself. And I meant what I said. You amaze me more every day, Temperance. Now close your eyes and get some sleep. I'll just keep massaging and…"

A soft snore broke through his words and he trailed off. With a smile, he kept massaging his way up her legs and then moved to her hands and up her arms. From there he massaged down her exposed side and worked his way down to her hips and then up and all around her tummy, where he also spoke softly to the babies. Then he worked his way, avoiding her sensitive breasts, to her shoulders, neck and then he cupped her face and kissed her on the forehead and cheeks. He then laid next to her wrapping his arms around her. With his lips on her forehead, he took deep breaths of her and drifted off for a little bit before being woken up by Russ as the couple was leaving to go to the movies.

Uncle Seeley held down the fort while they were gone. The girls were a big help, and during the times when Lucas was sleeping they all played board games and Booth even colored with Hayley when she asked him to.

Brennan didn't wake up until almost dinnertime and Russ and Amy had already returned from their outing. Brennan was briefly pissed at Booth for allowing her to sleep all that time, but it didn't last long as she wanted to maintain the state of relaxation she was in since she hadn't been so relaxed in quite a while.

The next couple of days were rather uneventful for everyone. The girls had school and Russ went back to work after having a couple weeks off to take care of his wife. The girls would spend the afternoons at Amy's parents' house as they usually did after school. Most of the time Booth and Brennan just helped Amy out with Luke, while Booth helped with some of the household chores such as laundry, dishes, vacuuming, and anything else he thought of to do.

On Wednesday, Booth received a call from Cullen saying that he would need Booth to be in the office Friday afternoon for a personnel meeting that could not be rescheduled. Booth alerted him of their plans to leave Goldsboro Friday morning anyway so that they could have the weekend to relax and start looking at houses. He told Cullen he would be there and then hung up the phone to prepare for the cookout that they were having that night.

Amy's parents were going to be there for dinner. Booth offered to cook burgers and pineapple out on the grill. Being December and snowy outside be damned. They were going to have a cookout. Russ and Amy's house had a large covered porch and so it wasn't going to be a big problem anyway.

The burgers were a hit and Brennan ate so much grilled pineapple that Booth was certain that she was going to make herself sick, and she did. So for the rest of the night he tended to a hormonal wife with an upset stomach. The girls did their part to help with the cleanup of trash and dishes in the kitchen before doing homework and getting ready for bed.

The next morning, just as with every morning they had been there so far, Brennan was the first one awake. She quietly made a light breakfast for herself before sitting in the living room watching out of the large bay window as the snow fell. It wasn't long before the others were awake and seeing the children off to school.

She was lounging in the big armchair with her hands resting on her stomach feeling the movements of her children as she sat there with her eyes closed when Booth came out from the bedroom.

"Wow, look at all of that snow. I hope it doesn't make getting home tomorrow a nightmare. Cullen wants me to be at the personnel meeting in the afternoon. I don't think he'll be happy if we don't make it back in time. It sounded important."

"We'll make it fine. We can leave whenever you'll be ready to drive in the morning. If you want to leave early to avoid the morning traffic and to get out before daylight makes it whiteout conditions as it is supposed to be that would be fine with me. I don't seem to be sleeping too well in the hours before the sun rises anyway."

"I'll just feel really bad if our four and a half hour drive turns into ten hours and you're stuck in there with no room to move around."

"If that happens, I'll move to the backseat where I can stretch out, but honestly I'm not worried about that. I'm more worried about getting you to that meeting on time."

"Cullen said that it couldn't be moved to another day; I imagine that it is because there will be some people in town for the meeting that won't be there any other day. I can call and see if they can be flexible about when in the day they hold the meeting."

Booth pulled out his phone and hit the speed dial.

"Hey, Colleen, it's Agent Booth," Booth turned up the charm. Even through the phone, he oozed sex appeal. Brennan rolled her eyes. "I'm doing great. How are you?" There was a pause before he spoke again. "It's been a really relaxing week…Oh, yeah, Bones is great. Very pregnant, yeah it's more evident now than it's ever been. I'll have to bring her by sometime, maybe tomorrow. She hasn't been to the office in a while. I'm sure she'd love to see you…Oh, well, now you'd have to ask her if she'll allow you to touch her belly. She doesn't just let anyone," Colleen must have said something funny because he let out a loud laugh, "Yeah like that one time she flattened Hacker for touching her. He'll never live that one down…Hey, listen, Colleen, I need to speak with Cullen about the meeting tomorrow…Yeah, I'll hold."

"Booth, did you just make plans to take me up to the office to show me off like some trophy wife?" Brennan asked, more out of amusement than annoyance.

"Sure did. You wouldn't have to stay long, but you at least need to go see Cullen and his secretary. You should come with me to the meeting tomorrow."

"Why? So I can sit in your office for an hour or two while you're in some meeting that they won't let me into because I don't have a high enough security clearance for classified information or something. I don't think so. I'd rather go home and snuggle up to my new pillow."

Booth heard the click over from horrible elevator music to silence indicating Cullen was about to come over the phone. He held the phone up to his ear more fully.

"_This is Sam Cullen."_

"Sir, Agent Booth here."

"_Ah, Booth, boy, what do you need?"_

"The weather is supposed to be near blizzard conditions for the rest of the day here and it's supposed to clear up a little tonight and then pick back up in the late morning hours as we're trying to make our way home."

"_And let me guess, you're not sure if you can actually make it back in time for the meeting."_

"Right, well I was wondering if it was flexible within the day, could it be held later than two in the afternoon? We're going to leave as early as we can to avoid traffic and whiteout conditions, but I know that once daylight hits, it'll slow us way down. As it is we'll be driving on stuff they likely haven't had a chance to clear yet."

"_I know the weather isn't your fault, but damn it, Booth. I'll see if Special Agent Sullivan can meet later. We'll hold the meeting past hours of operation if need be."_

Booth froze and looked to Brennan who had briefly closed her eyes. He turned away hoping that she didn't hear his next words.

"Sullivan as in Tim Sullivan, is Sully back, sir?"

Brennan bolted upright and glared at the back of her husband's head.

"_No, no. Not Tim Sullivan; now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time."_

"Yeah, tell me about it," Booth sighed in relief, "but truth be told, I'd be fine if I never saw him again after what he did to Bones."

"_Well, relax, son. I'm talking about Taylor Sullivan from the Los Angeles office. She'll be in town Friday to discuss a case. I believe her flight back is early on Saturday. So, barring any other plans she may have, I think I'll be able to push the meeting back as far as needed on Friday." _

"Is there anything you can tell me about this meeting beforehand?"

"_I wish I could, but I have not been briefed on it yet. All I know from the request for the meeting from Assistant Director Steven Martinez of the LA office is that she needs to talk to us about a crime syndicate that is based in LA and may have branched out to the DC area, and they've specifically requested your aid in the investigation."_

"Why me?"

"_Oh, come on, Booth. Certainly, you haven't forgotten the work you did on that RICO case a few years back."_

"Yeah, well, I thought everyone else did, considering I didn't even get to take the credit for it."

"_Son, that was just politics, but you know that everyone who matters knows who did the real work on that case. It doesn't matter what the public thinks they know. The big-wigs haven't forgotten."_

Booth was stoically silent on the other end of the phone. He had given up credit for that case in an effort to keep his brother's drunk driving from jeopardizing his new highly esteemed position at the Pentagon. Cullen didn't know any of this, and he was uncomfortable discussing the issue with him since he knew that the sudden relinquishing of a solid case looked suspicious. He really didn't want to get into that or be investigated for a violation of the code of ethics.

In a moment's silence, Booth changed the direction of the conversation. "Well, I will be there tomorrow. I just have no idea how long it'll take us to make the drive, but I'll be sure to make the Hoover our first destination. Colleen was asking about Bones, and she hasn't been to the office in a while."

"_I'm not sure she'll be allowed to sit in the meeting."_

"If not, she can visit with Colleen."

"_Well, I'll make sure that Hacker is occupied elsewhere for the afternoon. I don't need another incident report filed on another arm injury. If it keeps up, we'll have to charge her with assault." He laughed into the phone. "I know Hacker's a boob, but we can't have your wife making us look bad, son."_

"I can't make any guarantees that she'll play nice."

"_Yeah, I heard she took you down at the lab. Dr. Saroyan seemed very amused by the situation, but she was pretty pissed off when she had to file an invoice with us to obtain cleaning supplies to remove the paint. She was adamant that since it was an FBI case that caused the mess in her lab that the FBI was going to foot the bill."_

Booth groaned, "You heard about that?"

"_News travels fast through the grapevines when Seeley and Temperance Booth are involved."_

Booth looked back at his wife who looked a little shell-shocked. He didn't realize that his inquiry about Sully had alarmed her; he didn't even know she'd heard him. In fact, he didn't really think much of the look at all; he figured she was still thinking about traveling home in near blizzard conditions. He held the phone away from him slightly.

"Bones, you've gotta stop getting the drop on people. You're making the bureau look like a bunch of pansy asses and Cullen said we're going to have to start pressing charges."

"Booth! I haven't even done anything! The last person I beat up was you, and that was an accident. You scared me!"

"I know just…play nice okay. No matter who you see."

This put her on alert even more, and Booth had no idea because he'd already been told that the agent they were meeting wasn't Sully.

"_Booth! If you're just going to talk with your wife now, I'm going to let you go."_

"Alright, sir. I'll try to keep you updated on our whereabouts tomorrow during our travels."

"_Be safe, Booth. I mean it. You'll be in deep shit if we have to dig you out of a snow drift."_

"Okay, we will. Goodbye, sir."

"_Bye."_

Booth flipped his phone shut.

"Well?" Brennan asked.

"The meeting tomorrow should be flexible. The agent who requested the meeting has a flight on Saturday back to Los Angeles."

_Is that where he's been hiding all this time? Los Angeles? What happened to sailing around the Caribbean? Maybe he just spent his year there and decided it was time to move on to something else. The man did have troubles sticking with something for very long. It doesn't matter because it sounds like he'll be headed out of town almost immediately._

Brennan thought about asking more about the meeting and what Sully had been up to, but she decided she really didn't feel like hearing about him at the moment.

"And you're dragging me to the Hoover tomorrow?" she asked. She was a little unnerved by the possibility of seeing Sully again, but figured that as long as he was going right back where he came from that everything would be fine. She could handle this.

"Yeah; sorry, Bones, but it needs to be our first stop. We cannot lose any more time than is strictly necessary than to get from here to the Hoover. It'll take too long to drive as far north as our apartment in Adams Morgan and then back track to the Hoover."

"Fine, but I will not sit around and be the bored wife."

"Okay."

"And I'm not a trophy."

"You said that, not me."

"You don't get to parade me around like some show-and-tell object."

"How do you even know what that is?"

"Parker used to always tell me about his show-and-tell days."

"Yeah?" The fact that his son had always liked his partner warmed his heart beyond his comprehension. How such a simple affection between his two most favorite people in the world, who were not even related to each other, could affect him so heavily was beyond him. He'd had no idea at the time that he'd ever get the chance to be with much less marry his partner. He'd had no idea how critical the relationship between those two pivotal figures in his life would be in the coming years.

"Yes, Fridays were always show-and-tell days. Usually, when you'd drop him by the lab after picking him up from school on Friday afternoons on your weekends, it would always be the first thing he would tell me about."

"How come he never told me?"

"It was just our thing, Booth."

"You and my son had a thing? Bones, you are adorable."

Brennan made her classic pinchy face. "Kittens are adorable. Children are adorable. I am classified as neither and if you say that referring to me ever again, I'll give you a reason to press charges."

* * *

**Thank you for reading. I hope you'll take a little time to let me know what you think.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	49. BlueEyed Green Monster

"Where are we?" Brennan asked, sitting up her seat after a two-and-a half hour nap in the backseat of the SUV.

Booth and Brennan were on their way home from a week spent with Russ' family in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Booth needed to be back in the office for a meeting with an agent from the LA office that afternoon. Cullen had made sure that the time would be flexible to allow them time to get back into town safely. Much of the day before it had snowed, and currently they were driving in near whiteout conditions as a blizzard hammered the East Coast.

They left the house around three in the morning in order to allow for the conditions. In the dark, they would have a better chance of having visibility until dawn broke. That part was successful; it was now almost noon, and they had been traveling at a near crawl ever since becoming daylight outside.

And as expected, the Department of Transportation had not yet had a chance to clear anything away from the highway. It helped that the SUV had chains on the tires, but the conditions still had Booth on edge and he was tense with the strain and stress of having driven for hours in the near torturous conditions.

His back was getting stiff and his eyes were strained after so long of staring out into the blinding sea of white all around them. Luckily for them, there wasn't much other traffic on the road, so Booth was glad they didn't have to worry about anyone else making a mistake that could cost them dearly.

Brennan asked her question again after not receiving one the first time. She kept her voice gentle to keep from startling him. It was obvious to her, even in her sleep haze that he was set on concentrating on the road ahead of him and minimizing the distractions to keep his focus where it belonged.

"Babe? Where are we?" Then another realization hit her. "I really need to go to the bathroom."

"Uh," Booth looked around at the white landscape, "You know, I'm not entirely sure. It's hard to recognize any landmarks in all this shit. I can't read any of the signs because even if I could see two inches in front of us, I'm sure they're plastered with snow."

"Oh. Well, I need to pee."

"No surprise there, Sleeping Beauty. I'm surprised you didn't wake up an hour ago needing to go."

"Well, do you remember the town we went through last?"

"We actually just passed the turn off for Quantico about half an hour ago and judging by our pace we may almost be to Dale City."

"Good. I don't know how long I can wait. Can I turn the heater up a little or will it make you too sleepy?"

"I'm fine, you can turn it on. Just try to close your eyes again and don't think about needing to pee. I'll wake you when we get somewhere."

"There's no trying to go to sleep now, Booth. I've got to go so bad it almost hurts."

"Just lay back and relax, please. I need to concentrate."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I—"

"No, I'm not mad. I just need to concentrate."

"Okay."

**B&B**

Booth and Brennan pulled into the parking garage of the Hoover at four-thirty. Booth had already decided that they would need to go straight to the office rather than making the trip all the way to their neighborhood in Adams Morgan to drop things off and then backtrack to the Hoover since that would waste time. Since stopping in Dale City, they'd had to stop one other time as well for Brennan to go to the bathroom. Before heading up to Cullen's office, they made one more stop.

Brennan took a little extra time checking her appearance. She'd just been riding in a car for over twelve hours, and she'd be damned if she was going to see Sully again looking like she just rolled out of bed. Overall, she knew that her appearance didn't really matter, but she took pride in her appearance, always. She wasn't thrilled to be walking around the Hoover in Booth's FBI sweatpants and hooded sweatshirt; not that she cared what Sully thought of her, but she was nervous. It was as if a pile of slithering squirming snakes had taken up residence in her stomach. She needed a few minutes to gather her thoughts before leaving the bathroom. She splashed water on her makeup-free face and ran a brush quickly through her hair before deciding to pull it back in a ponytail.

Upon entering the outer area of the office, they were greeted warmly by Colleen.

"Oh, honey, look at you! Look at the belly! Come here." She quickly got up from behind her desk and walked around to stand in front of Brennan. "May I?" She asked, pointing to Brennan's stomach.

"Of course, Colleen. You're welcome to feel." The older woman still looked hesitant. Brennan took one of her hands and guided it to a place she knew had been active as of late with kicking and she pressed it into her slightly, trying to stimulate a response. Right on cue, one of the babies did not disappoint.

Colleen gave a little squeal and brought her other hand up as well.

Brennan was quite pleased with the attention she was getting. It wasn't often she felt that way, but with some people she really enjoyed the opportunity to share this part of her life with, and Colleen, while not a close friend, she was still someone who had shown enough respect and kindness toward Brennan over the years that she was comfortable with her.

Booth just stood back watching the exchange.

Having heard the squeal come from the outer office, Cullen excused himself from his guest and walked out of his office.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat to get the attention of his agent.

It broken the spell the scene had over Booth and he turned to see the man standing there waiting. "Hello, sir."

"Agent Booth," he nodded in greeting. "I see you made it safely."

"Yes, sir," he replied, keeping his eyes on his smiling wife as she talked with Colleen.

"Agent Sullivan is already in my office."

Brennan's acute hearing immediately honed in on what was just said. Hearing the words made the hair on the back of Brennan's neck stand up. She shifted her attention from Colleen and immediately her eyes fell upon a woman standing in the doorway.

Brennan moved toward Booth, and unknowingly to her, took a defensive position between him and the tall red-headed bombshell.

"Dr. Brennan, very good to see you. You're looking lovely, my dear. Stunning." Cullen offered by way of compliment as he took her hand in his and squeezed it gently in a caring manner. "We haven't seen you around here in a while."

"Yes, there's not much point in me spending much time here when I have nothing to do with many of my partner's cases as of late." She said curtly, still not realizing she was glaring daggers at the young woman. While she was standing there in Booth's sweats, the young woman was standing there in a business suit, being worn in such a way as to show off as much cleavage as possible without having her spill over the top buttons on her dress shirt.

"I heard you mention Agent Sullivan. I was unaware Sully was back in town," Brennan said turning her daggers to Booth for not mentioning it directly to her and then to Cullen.

"Oh, no Bones. Not Sully. He isn't here."

"Not Sully? Then, Sullivan who?"

The woman stepped forward and joined the exchange; she extended her hand first to Brennan, "Special Agent Taylor Sullivan," and when Brennan didn't take her hand she awkwardly moved to shake Booth's hand as she eyed him appreciatively with her glassy green eyes.

_So that's why Booth didn't mention anything about Sully. Because it wasn't him. I should have known better than to think he would just keep something like that from me, but he definitely failed to mention Agent Sullivan was a she. Did he even know? It doesn't matter. I'm going to make myself crystal clear. Who needs subtlety? Not that I'm any good at that anyway._

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth, and this is my partn—"

Noticing Sullivan's hand lingering a little too long in her husband's hand, she moved quickly to come between them once more, and holding up her left hand practically in Agent Sullivan's face, Brennan quickly emphasized who she was, cutting off what Booth was going to say, "_Wife; _I'm his _wife_, Temperance. You may call me, _Mrs. Booth._" She elbowed Booth, "Hold up your left hand and show her your ring."

Her possessive streak surprised all of them, especially Booth who hadn't realized that Brennan felt in any way threatened by this woman since he hadn't given the woman much of a second look. He wasn't interested, so Brennan's reaction baffled him. Then, he realized that it was because Agent Sullivan had been eyeing _him_, and despite the clearly possessive comments, still was. He mindlessly held up his hand to show off the ring, still blown completely out of the water by his wife's green streak.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Booth. Will you be joining this meeting?"

One '_yes'_ and two '_no'_s filled the stiff air around them.

"I'm sorry Dr. Booth; we cannot allow you in this meeting. This is not a case where we can use your services, and quite frankly, in your condition the less you know about this case the better for you."

Brennan's eyes brimmed with fire. "I see," she replied. "It's a dangerous case, then?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Why else would he be so adamant about not letting her in? He'd let her, unofficially, sit in on some of their meetings before. Granted, at those times, she was working on the cases in question, but still she really shouldn't have been in there.

"Bones, I already told you that you may not be allowed into this room during the meeting." Booth tried to reason with her.

"But what about all of those other times?"

"No, Dr. Booth; I'm afraid I will not be changing my mind on this one. I'm sorry." Cullen added to help Booth out.

"Temperance?" Colleen called out to her. "You can sit out here and wait with me. We can have a little girl talk."

Brennan turned toward the other woman who had sat back down at her desk. "I do not wish to hurt your feelings and I mean no offense by this, Colleen, but there is nothing that we could discuss that interests me at this time."

She turned back to Booth. "I told you that I would not sit around being the bored wife because you won't let me in your meeting."

Booth, himself, was about to cave and tell her yes. He turned his eyes to his superior, looking for help. Immediately, Booth saw him waver before stiffening again. "No, I cannot allow it this time. I'm sorry." Booth could also see that he struggled to come up with a satisfactory explanation as to why she couldn't come in. "This case… I just can't let you in on this one." Clearly, he knew something Booth didn't.

"Fine," she replied shortly, "but know this, he's just going to tell me later anyway." She made a show of shoving her tongue down his throat right in front of everyone as she kissed him greedily and then she slapped his ass as she turned to walk over to the chair in front of Colleen's desk.

Booth stood stock-still, frozen in spot, caught in the amused gaze Cullen gave him. Would he get in trouble for that little display even though it was clear he was the one who was blindsided by her territorial actions? Regardless, the behavior was unprofessional and disregarded any integrity they prided themselves in, in their professional lives.

Booth shrugged at Cullen indicating that he had no idea what the Hell had just happened, and the older man just laughed slightly before motioning both agents back into the office and shutting the door behind them.

Brennan let out a huge breath and took a piece of candy from the dish at the edge of Colleen's desk.

"That was an impressive appearance by the green-eyed monster, Temperance." Colleen said grabbing a piece of candy for herself.

"I'm not sure Agent Sullivan would be amenable to you calling her that, but I must say that I rather like that description," Brennan said, missing the reference entirely.

**B&B**

"So, let me get this straight." Booth crossed his arms over his chest narrowing his eyes at Agent Sullivan. "You want me to go undercover as a dealer from Philly in this Italian crime syndicate, the Pavarotti Family—"

"Pirelli Family," Sullivan corrected, not understanding that one way Booth uses to cope with certain information is to intentionally butcher words and facts.

"Right. You want me to go undercover and get into their newly formed shop they've set up here, and you want me to get what exactly?"

"Information regarding—"

Booth cut her off, "Look, That's obvious. You want me to get information. That's an elementary motive behind planting me on the inside. What do these guys do? I need more than you telling me that you need me to get information."

"For starters, drugs, money laundering, theft. They've set up shop here, and it seems their main front is a bookstore by the same name as the LA counterpart. The money laundering through the store front a huge part of the case, but more importantly, they have a history of human trafficking, children mostly. They've been responsible for many black market adoptions concentrated in the LA area," Taylor explained.

To say Booth was speechless would have been an understatement. He actually felt physically ill from the information. All he could do was sigh and ask, "How do I get in with these people?"

**B&B**

Colleen sat there and listened to Brennan ramble on about all of the ways Sullivan had grated on her nerves. She'd made the mistake of explaining the green-eyed monster reference and told Brennan she was jealous. At first, Brennan denied it, and then when Colleen explained to her all that had happened, listing it off on one finger at a time, it was as if Brennan was hearing it for the first time. She'd had no idea she'd done or said some of those things.

It pissed her off even more that not only was this woman eyeing her husband; she had also gotten under her skin enough to cause Brennan to get alpha on her ass without her even knowing it. She hated losing control. It wasn't long before Brennan found herself in a frenzied rant about this woman.

"…and that hair color! No one has hair that color of red. It's just as unnatural as her breasts which were…"

Colleen found herself smiling a nodding as Brennan blazed a trail through her thoughts.

Brennan paused as the door opened and Agent Sullivan walked out of the office, shut the door behind her and headed out of the inner office, quickly.

**B&B**

"You're asking me to move into a motel? And I can't see Bones? At all. And you don't have any way of knowing how long this case will take?"

"That's right, Agent Booth. It could take months, possibly up to a year. I've discussed this with—"

Booth cut her off again. He looked to Cullen, "Sir, I'm out. I cannot take this case."

"I wasn't aware that this was an optional assignment, son," Cullen replied. He hated sounding like a hard-ass, but he needed Agent Sullivan to know that he didn't play favorites and bend rules for anyone. He had an image to maintain about the DC office.

"Sir, I _can't_ do this."

One look at Booth and he knew why, and she was sitting not thirty feet away in the other room.

"Agent Sullivan, could you give us a moment? Make yourself at home in the break room; get some coffee. I would advise avoiding his wife, if possible."

"No kidding," she murmured as she stood.

"What was that, Agent Sullivan?"

"Yes, sir," she changed her answer. She walked out and shut the door behind her.

Booth sat there trying to find the words. "Sir, I understand that moving out and severing contact with Bones would be advisable so that she would be safe, but I can't leave her for an indeterminate amount of time."

"It would be for her own good, as was not including her in on this briefing. She doesn't need to know the nature of this one."

"I agree, but I cannot take this case. Not right now."

"Agent Booth, you are irritating me right now. This wasn't intended to be an optional assignment. You were specifically requested for this case."

Booth had done some thinking since being told yesterday by Cullen that they had specifically requested him for this major crimes case when he was clearly a homicide detective. It didn't sit well with him, but he'd said nothing about it. Something just didn't seem right.

"Then you're going to have to suspend me or something, sir, because I'm not taking this assignment. I'm not leaving Bones to wonder if she'll ever see me alive again, and I'm not leaving her to fend for herself through the rest of this pregnancy."

Booth's resolve held strong. He wasn't going to be sucked into this one. There was no way he was budging on his answer and the determination in his eyes told Cullen there was something on his mind.

"Son, something is on your mind. What is it?"

Booth nodded. "Oh, yeah. Something is on my mind, and it's… something alright."

"If I'm going to cave and give this case to someone else, you're going to tell me right now why it is that I cannot have my best agent on this difficult case."

"Okay, but it doesn't leave this room until we've told everyone who needs to know."

"I understand."

"First, Bones had some tests done the week before our vacation. She has gestational diabetes, which comes with certain risks, and we're constantly having to be careful of things she consumes, making sure she takes her medicine, and monitoring her levels. That condition in itself is common and easily manageable, but the thing on my mind right now complicates things further. Bones is carrying twins," Cullen's face widened in surprise and a big grin broke out on his face, "and that makes this a very high risk pregnancy with the added stress of the GD. There's just so—it's too risky, sir. She's already agreed to cut her days to half days at work in order to reduce stress, but I don't think that will be enough. I cannot add this to her list of things to stress over."

Cullen's smile fell a little as he spoke. "I get it. There's so much room for something to go wrong, and you need to be there to support her. I know. After that display by the blue-eyed green monster out there, I'm sure that she'll be happy to know that you will not be working with Agent Sullivan."

"Now that you mention it, yes, that sounds like a good idea. I've never seen Bones like that before. I didn't even know she was capable of that kind of jealousy, sir."

"It was something else alright. Okay, Booth, I can't believe that I'm caving on this, but—" he cut himself off. He thought for a moment and felt like slapping himself for not seeing the problem with this particular agent's involvement in a dangerous undercover operation such as this. "Yeah, I'll assign someone else, but here's the official reason I'm going to state in the agent request denial for the case. You and your partner are well known around here for your work, the undercover work would be jeopardized by your status within the DC community."

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me for that. It's a technicality that I should have seen before. It's just that the request to specifically have you put on the case blurred things a little bit. They should have known that this would be a problem."

Booth frowned, his gut twisted, knowing now that maybe there was a reason he had been wary of this. "Why is it so important that they have me on the case? I'm a homicide detective; doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"Actually, yes, but with your previous work on the RICO case, I didn't think anything of it. I trust your judgment, Agent Booth. If you feel like this sounds like some kind of underhanded scheme, we'll look into it discretely."

"I'm not sure. I certainly don't know all of the details of this case or the people involved. It just seems a little suspicious to request me when that clearly isn't my main area of expertise, and wouldn't they know that if they knew of my investigative abilities out in California that they might be even more publicized here? It could be possible that someone is trying to get me killed by putting me in a situation they know could very well do the trick. If I was planted and the Family were to have found out who I was…"

"That's speculation and we can't really go off of that, but that scenario, honestly it sounds entirely plausible."

"Be careful, you're starting to sound like my squinty wife."

"Watch yourself, Booth." Cullen said, chuckling, but the warning clearly there. He was no squint.

"Since you feel like something's off, I'm going to say that's good enough for me," he said, resolved to get to the bottom of this. He doubted the young Agent Sullivan was involved in anything, if there was something malicious going on; it was likely that she was just a pawn. "We'll investigate that further. Now, your family needs you right now, and I respect that. My suggestion is that you take the missus home before Agent Sullivan comes back."

"Thank you, sir. I'm very glad to not be adding to Bones' stress levels right now. We're also monitoring her blood pressure. It was a little high at the last few appointments."

"Twins," Cullen said with a shake of his head as he stood to show his agent out. "You two don't do anything half-assed, do you?"

"We've been told as much." Booth stood and made his way to the door.

"Agent Booth, as amused as I am at your wife's intentions and regardless of how fond I am of the two of you, I'm giving you a new assignment. I'm ordering you to have a conversation with you wife about conduct in the work place."

Booth shook his head and laughed. "A jealous Bones is not something I'm sure I can change."

"You'll figure her out."

_I doubt that will ever happen._

Cullen opened the door, and Sullivan caught the words being exchanged as they exited the office. She'd come back to the outer office after getting herself a coffee from the break room. She made a point to sit in the chair across the room, the furthest possible from Brennan.

"I'm sorry to have wasted your time, Booth. I really should have known better than to think you would be able to take this assignment."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't take this one."

"No don't apologize. It isn't your fault; it's a matter of public record Booth. Your identity is far too recognized in this area for us to give you this case. I should have realized it sooner."

Taylor Sullivan's head whipped around at the comment. Her higher-ups would not be happy about this. _Shouldn't they have known that already?_ It didn't make sense to her, but she was only doing what she was told to come here to do.

"It's fine sir, I wouldn't want my status to jeopardize the case."

"Son, I'm not worried about the case. I'm more worried that if we hadn't realized this sooner, that we could have put you and your family in danger. It's public knowledge that you're married to your high profile partner and expecting. The Family would have had no moral problem using that to their advantage if they knew who you were."

Agent Sullivan felt like her entire operation had just been dismembered before it had ever been put together. She had very much been looking forward to working with this gorgeous man on this case. Defeat was evidenced on her face, and her mind was whirling with what she was going to tell her superiors. The truth, obviously, but how would the situation be handled? It was clear to her that they really wanted Agent Booth on this case.

"Sullivan," Cullen called her over, "in my office, please. We have a few matters to discuss. And Agent Booth, go take care of your family."

"Thank you, sir. Have a good evening." Booth turned to Brennan.

"Baby, you ready?"

Brennan told Colleen bye, and nodded to Booth. As they began walking out of the office, Brennan asked, "What was that about? What's _the Family_ and what would they have no problem doing?"

"I'll tell you later. Let's just go home."

"Okay," and as they walked out she turned her glare towards the young agent watching them walk out and just before they disappeared around the corner Brennan managed to sneak a hand behind her husband and plant her hand firmly across one ass cheek and get in a big squeeze before disappearing out of sight.

**B&B**

Brennan practically shoved Booth through the door and managed to turn him around against the door, as it slammed shut. The back of his head bounced off and she made a mental note to apologize for the knot he was sure to develop there on the back of his head.

Still in her cloud of _marking her territory_, Brennan's assault on her husband did not surprise him. It did, however, surprise him that she was able to wait until she got into the door. The air between them had been smoldering and crackling with sexual tension since walking out of the Hoover. Not even the sub-freezing temperatures and snow was enough to tame the flames that had built up and kept burning strong throughout the almost hour-long drive through the snow to their apartment and then the slow elevator ride up.

Somewhere in the back of Booth's mind, really far back, a voice was registering. Not his own, not his wife's, not his conscience, not even an adult voice.

_Oh, shit! Parker!_

"Dad? Bones?"

"Bones, stop." He half-heartedly pushed her away. She came back to him, continuing her aggressive and downright possessive kissing.

"Dad?" Parker sighed. "Ew, Daaad!"

Booth kissed back and then took charge with one last lingering kiss before pulling away and turning her so that he could get out of her reach and indicate to her that they were not alone.

"Bones, stop. Look around Parker's here." He turned to his son to see that Rebecca had probably heard the door slam shut and then heard her son call for his dad several times. She stood there next to him, clearly amused and wide-eyed. "And Rebecca," he finished on a sighed. "Hi," he said, shyly. He'd forgotten that his ex had stayed with their son in their apartment.

Brennan tightly shut her eyes and tried to regain her control. Once she opened them, she also muttered a shy, "hi."

She moved from the door to pick up the bags that she'd forced Booth to drop to the floor. She looked determined to grab as many as she could in order to put her mind on something else. Booth moved to beat her to picking up bags before she got to them. He tried to take some more bags from her, unsuccessfully, and they both made their way back to the bedroom to drop their stuff off.

Through the corner of his eye, he could see Parker still standing there.

"Parker, buddy, could you grab some of the bags from Bones," he asked knowing damn well that she wouldn't decline help from the boy as she was from him. "Help her take them to our room, and then you need to give us some time to get in the house, okay. I need to talk to Bones."

"But daaad! You've talked to her for all week long. They teach sharing in kindergarten and you are," he looked thoughtful for a moment before finishing, "waaay past that."

"Parker," Rebecca warned. "Let's give them a minute. Help take the bags back to their room, but then come back out here and help me finish making dinner. Let them _talk._"

Booth caught the inflection in her tone that indicated what she thought, and then he quickly added, "No, really Rebecca. Bones and I need to talk about something very important that happened at the meeting I just came from and a few other things. We shouldn't be too long."

Parker saw a bright green and red bag that looked like it was from a toy store. "Oh, what's in there?"

"Nothing," Booth fibbed, not wanting his son to know that they had done a little bit of Christmas shopping while they were gone. "Thanks for your help, buddy. Now go help your mom like she asked you to, please."

"Okay." He hugged each parent, "I'm so glad you guys are home."

"We are too, Parker," Brennan responded. She walked over and shut the door behind the retreating boy.

She took her toiletry bag to her vanity in their bathroom and started putting makeup and personal items away.

Booth took his and put away his razor, shampoo, body wash, deodorant and other things.

"Bones, you should know that I'm not taking the case."

"I gathered that much, Booth. I just don't understand why you felt the need to turn it down. Clearly, I don't understand something. Oh, but I would have if you would have let me in the meeting!"

"I had no control over that."

"I know that. I also know that you are going to tell me what this whole thing was all about, right now. What is so big that _Agent Taylor Sullivan_ had to fly in from the other side of the country to brief you on a case when it could have been done over the phone where she couldn't make cuckoo eyes at you?"

Clearly, she was fuming and clearly still sexually frustrated, but there was nothing they could do about that now. She knew that and had accepted it. So he knew that he'd have to address the issue of the nature of the case with her right this second, and he thought it was unwise to correct her usage of _cuckoo._

"She was here about a case against a prominent Italian crime syndicate called the Pirelli Family. They've been dominating the LA area for quite some time, and recently they've moved some of their activity to our area. They wanted to plant me in, undercover, as a drug dealer from Philly."

"That would never work here. We're too publicized in this area for undercover work to be safe and effective."

"And ultimately that is what we put as the official reason for Cullen taking me off of the case, but the main number one reason I couldn't take this? You. You and our children." He said running his hands over her stomach.

"So when I asked if this was a dangerous case, that was a gross understatement, correct?"

"The biggest."

"So, when Cullen referred to _the Family_ back at the Hoover, he was talking about the Italian mob." It was a statement of realization, not a question. "The Pirelli Family."

"Yes."

"And when he said they would have no moral problem… oh God, Booth!" Her mind worked quickly through everything she'd been told so far, and she figured some things out that it had taken Cullen and Booth much longer to talk out between them. "What the Hell is going on? It sounds like someone was trying to plant you in there, knowing your status could get you killed!"

"Yes, and that is why he took me off the case. Someone wanted to isolate me, douse me in blood, and stick me in a shark tank. Bones, Sullivan mentioned that I would have had to move out of here and into some seedy motel for possibly up to a year and sever all contact with you and Parker, but ultimately, it wouldn't matter. If the Family managed to find out who I am, then they would not have had any hesitation in killing me and going after our family as well."

"I'm sure she took pleasure in suggesting that you move out and sever ties from me." Brennan spat. "I did not like her, Booth." Brennan walked back into their room from their bathroom. She opened her suitcase and started putting clothes in the hamper and shoes back on her shoe rack.

"It was clear you didn't like her, Bones. Cullen said something about lecturing you over appropriate workplace conduct." Booth followed closely back into the room to do the same. Normally, he would have waited to unpack after relaxing a bit, but it was a welcome activity to have so they could focus on something less intense as they talked.

A deep pink settled in her cheeks. "I'm sorry about that. I had no control over my actions. Colleen told me about everything I did. You are not property, Booth and I should not have acted in that manner."

He stopped what he was doing and walked to stand in front of her. He pulled her as close as her belly would allow and rested his forehead on hers. Staring into her eyes, he let a huge smile grace his face, "Don't apologize, and don't be embarrassed. I thought it was hot. And I saw how she was looking at me. I felt like I was under a damn microscope."

"I can't believe she didn't back off once I made it clear who we were to each other."

"I don't like it any more than you do. It's just another reason I'm glad to not be on this case, among many others."

"What would those be?"

"I already told you." He leaned in and kissed her gently with a smile. "Parker." Another kiss. "The babies." Kiss. "You." The next kiss was a little longer and more passionate, but still controlled. "Before we even brought up the possibility that someone was trying to put me in danger, I turned the case down because I could not leave you. Whether or not we are married or even still _just partners_, I wouldn't have taken the case. Since we _are_ married _and_ expecting, I sure as Hell was not going to leave you, pregnant with twins to go through this alone and scared about whether you'll ever see me alive again. I can't do that to you. I can't let you worry so much about how you were going to get through this in my absence, temporary or permanent."

That did it; the tears now flowed unabashedly down Brennan's face. Deep sobs wracked her body as she fought to control her sensitive emotions. The thought of living, coping, finding a way to make it through _their_ life alone, without him by her side swarmed like a torrent of unwelcome thoughts through her mind. She'd known what that was like. She'd lived it for two weeks. And for the second time that week, she found herself in a tear-filled rage about having gone through that and knowing exactly how it would feel to live without him. Only now that they were together and married with children on the way, she could only imagine that freight train of emotions would be heavier, exponentially.

Booth comforted her for several minutes before she was calm enough that he dared to pull back and look into her face. Though her face was still puffy and red from crying and wet from the tears, she wore a warm smile as she looked at him.

"Can we tell Parker now?" She bounced in excitement, having done a complete one-eighty in mood. "I _really_ missed him."

"I suppose we should." He grinned back at her. "I missed him, too. We can tell him and Rebecca during dinner."

"It smells good," Brennan said, opening the door.

"Don't let the smell fool you. Rebecca is a horrible cook. I only hope she's gotten better since we were together."

* * *

**The muse has been rather active lately, and so this one came easily. **

**I'd like to thank everyone that has or ever will review this story. The response to this story is absolutely incredible. I would have never imagined making it to over 600 reviews. Ever. This is much bigger than I ever imagined it to be. It's quite an accomplishment and it feels great to have such support, especially after having gone a little over six years with absolutely no writing whatsoever other than papers for school. Once again, thank you.**

**I will eventually get the next chapter of "She Isn't Enough" finished. I know it's been a month since i updated that one, but I'm trying to make sure it is right. I don't want to just put something out there and not have it be immaculate, because the next stage in that story is so crucial to Booth's recovery. I just want it to be right.**

**Would love to hear your thoughts. :)**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	50. House Hunting or Being Hunted

**I've had three hour rehearsals all week last week and several performances over the weekend, but I've got this done between all of that and working. I'm working on the next chapter as well, but thought that you might like to have this one. **

**Also, I'm glad to know so many people were happy that Booth put his foot down and didn't take the case. **

**This chapter gets intense. Please trust me.**

* * *

"There's going to be two of them!" Parker practically yelled after dropping his fork into his sweet potatoes. "The other one's a boy, too, right? Because, girls aren't as fun. They don't like bugs and they don't like to wrestle." Then Parker leaned in and whispered harshly as if he was sharing some deep secret, "Plus they like to wear pink frilly stuff and they play with dolls."

"What's wrong with girls?"Booth asked. He was mainly concerned about his sons view on girls because he hoped that one day he could maybe have a little girl before their time ran out on the baby-making clock. They were pushing it with the twins. "Bones is a girl."

"She doesn't count," Parker said at the same time Brennan answered, "I'm not a girl. I'm a woman."

"Wait; what? Why don't I count?" She asked with a frown.

"Because, Bones, you like cool stuff. You dig in the dirt. You like bugs. Gross stuff freaks a lot of people out, but not you. You always look nice, but you don't look…"

"Fake?" Booth finished for his son.

"Yeah. Sooo, they're both boys, right? Please say yes."

He received two simultaneous nods and confirmation that both babies are male.

"Are they going to be identical or fraternal?" Rebecca asked. She had been sitting back and relaxing as she watched the interaction between the rest of her family.

Booth let Brennan answer this one, "Dr. Matthews says that there are some indicators that they will be identical. There appears to be one placenta and a thin lining between the babies rather than a thicker membrane and two placentas that would indicate fraternal twins. Although the ultrasound machines are a good resource to use to determine these sorts of things, we won't be sure until they are born. As it is, we thought there was only one baby up until last week."

"How does that just go unnoticed for so long?" Rebecca asked. She would want as much advanced warning as she could get if she were going to have twins.

"It just happened that every time I have had an ultrasound, one baby was shadowing the other. He was directly behind the other one. The only reason the doctor knew to look was because I am no longer within the normal target range for size and weight gain for a singleton pregnancy."

"I can see that now that you mention it. Temperance, you are much bigger now that I ever was with Parker. He was almost two months early, though. Wow, so you're going to need more space. Certainly you can't all fit here?"

"No, we're going to look at houses. We have an appointment with a realtor tomorrow morning, in fact."

Then Booth added, "But if we don't find anything we like, we are considering buying a lot and having one built to our specifications. It would be cramped for a while, but we do have that room we use for an office that could be a temporary nursery."

"Cramped would be an understatement, Seeley. I've seen that room. It looks like it was never meant to be anything other than a small office or maybe a closet."

There was silence for a few minutes as everyone finished up eating and as they were getting up to put their plates in the dishwasher, Brennan thought of something.

"Rebecca, I'm going to need to sublet this apartment when we do find a place. I signed a two-year contract about a year ago. I have a little over a year left on my lease. I did not anticipate getting married and having children back then, and we certainly didn't know we would have Parker with us full time either. Actually, Booth and I were not even a couple yet. Anyway, I was wondering if you would like to move in here after we find a place."

"I'm a lawyer, I _can_ afford it." Rebecca thought aloud.

This would be her chance to get away from her house that she shared with Brent and Parker. While there were really good memories from that house that dated before Brent, and even some with Brent in the picture, sometimes everywhere she looks in the house makes her think of mostly the bad that happened there. Not only that, but should Brent get out of jail, he would certainly go straight to the house in search for her.

_He can't do that if I no longer live there and he has no idea where I live._

"I think that is a wonderful idea!" She said with more enthusiasm and conviction.

**B&B**

The next morning they all laid around until they absolutely had to get up.

Booth and Brennan had an appointment with a realtor that they had to get to. Rebecca had stayed one more night with them, so that she could stay with Parker while they went house hunting. That way she wouldn't have to worry about having to get up and drive all the way back to Adams Morgan from her neighborhood.

When Booth woke up the first thing he did was remember that it was Saturday, which meant that it was the start of a new week of life for the babies.

He uncovered his beautiful wife and exposed her abdomen by lifting her shirt. She was still asleep, as best he could tell, but this was something he had done when waking up every Saturday whether she was awake or not.

"Good morning Joseph and other baby we _will_ name eventually. This is daddy speaking. Happy twenty-third week of life, my precious sons. We cannot wait to meet you." Booth ran his hands over the swell of his wife's belly.

Keeping her eyes shut, and her breathing even, she listened to her husband as he spoke to her stomach.

"Your mommy and I love you both so much. It's amazing how I can love someone like this and we haven't even met. Your big brother, Parker, he loves you both, too. He's _really_ excited that you are both boys. I am too, but I wouldn't have minded a beautiful little girl that would have looked just like her mommy. I hope that mommy would still want to try for a girl someday."

He kissed her stomach, and ran his fingertips down the smooth skin. The sensation really tickled her, but she maintained her steady breathing and did not let it show that she was awake and listening.

"I know one thing though. Mommy is going to be surrounded by devastatingly handsome and charming Booth boys. This is going to be one of those households where we ask the woman to put the seat back up after she's done." Booth added that last part after he was sure he had noticed a sign that she was awake and listening.

She did not disappoint.

"Booth, you will not! The seat stays down! Just because you are a slob that never remembers to put the seat down, that doesn't mean I'm raising our boys to be the same way."

"Okay, hey now. How many years did I live by myself and not need to worry about that? I think I'm entitled to some slack here if I forget every occasionally. If anything, blame Parker, too. He does it, too, you know."

"Don't blame your son! Parker is just a child; of course, he forgets. He is still learning. Still, he does a better job of remembering than you do, Prince Charming."

"What? How do you even know who that is?"

"Angela and I watch Disney movies frequently when she has nothing to do at work and I am tired or my feet hurt from standing over old bones. She said something about exposing me to my new reality."

"You sit around and watch movies while I'm out catching the bad guys?"

"Booth, you know better than anyone that I would rather be with you catching the bad guys, but that isn't an option right now. Although, I must admit that I really do like some of the movies. _Bambi_ made me cry."

"Hormones?"

"Maybe, but it was genuinely sad. He lost his mother, Booth. I know what that feels like; to have your mother murdered. I—it's heart crushing. Perhaps, it had nothing to do with the hormones. Angela cried, too. What would her excuse be?"

"Bones, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. But you cannot tell _anyone_." She nodded. "The first time I watched _Bambi_ with Parker, I cried like a bitch-baby, but I do know one thing that came out of losing his mother that was redeeming in that movie. His father stepped up."

"I did draw some similarities between _Bambi_ and my own life. My father is now back in my life. While I am no longer in need of raising, as Bambi was, I find it noble that he did everything he could to make it possible to be my father again and be in my life now."

Brennan snuggled into Booth's side, "I liked what you said to the babies this morning," she said, changing the subject. While she was now glad that her father was in her life, she still didn't like to talk about or analyze how that came to be, and the subject was broaching entirely too close to doing so.

"Did you hear all of it?"

"Yes, I think so. Booth uncovering me and making me cold is a sure way to wake me up. I knew what you were going to do, so I just listened for a bit."

"Well, I didn't reveal any deep dark secrets, so I don't mind that you heard."

"Do you _have_ any deep dark secrets?"

"Not unless you count some of the things I did as a sniper. Which, I'd rather leave in the past than ever speak them aloud to any one, especially our children. I have a hard enough time talking my way out of it when Parker asks about my days in the army." Then he quickly changed the subject, "You know, we should really get up and get moving. We have just over an hour to get ready and get breakfast."

"Well, I showered last night," Brennan said. "I don't need to wash my hair this morning, so I can be really quick in the shower, and you don't take long either; well, except for doing your hair." Brennan laughed.

Booth pointed to himself in mock annoyance, "Son of a barber!"

"You can have the shower after I'm done, and then you can shower and do your hair while I get breakfast ready."

She tried to get out of bed but found that she had ended up too far toward the center of the bed in order to be closer to Booth, and she couldn't quite roll over back to her side.

She sat up and analyzed the situation of how to get up. She decided to just sit up and scoot on her butt toward the end of the bed. Once she was successful, she grabbed a few things and headed toward the bedroom.

As she emerged from the bathroom and Booth crossed her path on his way into the bathroom, they kissed before parting once more.

Brennan headed out to the kitchen to notice that Rebecca was already up and had made breakfast for them.

"Oh, Rebecca, you didn't have to—"

"Don't be silly Temperance. I don't mind cooking for everyone.

"It smells good."

"There's sausage, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy. I've sliced some fruit if you want some."

"I think I'll have some of everything."

Brennan grabbed a plate and started piling on some sausage when a blond blur of curls ran into the kitchen with obvious excitement.

"Bones, Bones! It's Saturday. How many weeks has it been now?" He asked her every week how many weeks it's been.

"Twenty-three."

"How many months is that?"

"That's five months and three weeks." Brennan replied.

"Can I feel them?" He asked wanting to touch her stomach.

She loved that he was always polite enough to ask her first, even though Parker and Booth were probably the only two people she would let get away with touching without asking. Even Angela asked first.

She stopped getting eggs from the pan and set her plate down.

"Sure. They haven't been very active this morning though, so don't be disappointed if you don't feel anything. I think they're asleep."

"Whoa! They sleep?" He said, putting both of his hands on her stomach.

"Yes, Parker, even before they are born they do sleep. They do normal things that babies do. They may suck their thumbs, a habit we will have to promptly discourage. They yawn, stretch, kick, urinate…"

"They pee in there?" Parker asked with wide eyes. "That's gross."

"They don't have anywhere else to go, Parker, and it helps to keep the amniotic fluid replenished."

Booth walked into the kitchen in a pair of faded jeans and a black button down shirt.

"Dad! Did you know the babies pee in there?" Parker pointed to Brennan's stomach.

"That's," Booth tried to find a word for it, "gross."

"Bones says they even sleep, yawn and suck their thumbs before they are born! That is so cool!"

"That is cool!" Booth replied. "So, Bones, what's developing this week?"

"Well, the babies have been able to hear for quite some time now," She took a big bite of her sausage, "but now they are able to recognize some sounds as comforting or as scary. They now have the startle reflex, and it something scares them they will startle. Normally a single baby would be just over eleven inches long," she put her fork down and indicated with her hands the length, "and just over a pound, but since we know there's two of them, twins are usually a little smaller due to the shared space. Oh, and their lungs are starting to develop air sacs."

"Wow!" Parker drew out. "How do you know all of that stuff?"

"Bones is a _genius_, Parker. You know that," Booth answered.

"Booth, I read it in a book last night, since I knew that you or Parker would ask at some point today. It's not like I walk around automatically knowing what's going on in there."

"Are we _that_ predictable?" Booth asked in mock horror.

"Yes. You and Parker both tend to be creatures of habit. You find a routine you like and you stick with it. It's good. Routines will be helpful when the babies get here. It's a good quality. I didn't mean anything offensive by it," she said, defending her comment.

"I know, Bones. I wasn't offended. I was just joking."

"Oh, I thought you were really offended that… that's silly. We should get ready to leave, soon. Hurry up and eat. You would have had longer if you didn't spend all that time on your hair. It's Saturday, it isn't like you are going to work."

"I still like to look nice."

"I'm glad you're predictable and you look nice." Brennan leaned in towards him as he sat down next to her. "And you smell nice." She purred.

Booth pushed her back over toward her food. "Bones, eat. You start talking to me like that and it's going to get too inappropriate to be in the kitchen, really fast."

"You mean you're going to want to sex her up," Parker said with a straight face as the adults looked on in horror at his flippant attitude toward the subject. "You know, like you were going to do last night when you came home."

Booth turned twenty shades of red. "Parker, room. Now. We'll talk later when we get back."

Parker made a sound of disappointment and sulked back to his room.

"Seeley, I can talk to him about it if you want." Rebecca added. She was torn between a mix of amusement and dread. Her baby was growing up. She wanted to shelter him from all of the adult worries of the world, but the way he had worded it was too funny to not laugh at it at least a little on the inside.

"Booth, that isn't the first time he's said something about you sexing someone up. You really should have addressed it back then."

"It isn't?" Rebecca asked. "When did he first ask that? I doubt he heard those words from any of us."

"About a year ago, he was asking all of my female coworkers if they would sex me up. Turns out, that he just wanted me to have a girlfriend because he wanted a pool. One of his friend's dads got a girlfriend and she had a pool, so he thought that if I got a girlfriend, too, he would get a pool."

"And I gave Booth a key to the pool in this building so that he and Parker could swim whenever they wanted to and not have to worry about Parker asking women to sex Booth up anymore."

"You just wanted to stop him from asking _other_ women to sex me up because _you_ wanted to sex me up." Booth told her with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"That _might_ be true. You'll never know," Brennan said with a smirk. "Hurry up and finish. I'm going out to the truck. If you keep me waiting it'll be a very long time before you get sexed up again."

"Okay! I'm still in the room!" Rebecca called out upon deaf ears. Brennan was practically devouring Booth's face in a searing kiss that was meant to give him a glimpse of what he'd be missing if he kept her waiting. She also reached around while he was distracted and stole one of his sausages.

After breaking the kiss and stepping slowly away with her prize she took a seductive bite and hummed her approval of the flavor. Booth finally noticed that she took it from his plate.

"Hey, you know, if you keep stealing food from my plate every time we have a meal, you're going to have a malnourished husband."

"You've packed on a few pounds since we've been married that you could stand to lose. Don't keep me waiting." She reminded as she walked out.

Booth shoveled food in his mouth and gulped down the rest of his orange juice before telling Parker that he could come out of his room and telling him and his mother goodbye. He ran out to the SUV.

**B&B**

They had seen five houses already and it was approaching one in the afternoon. They were on their way to see the last one before going to have lunch to discuss what they've seen.

They were standing outside listening to the realtor relay information about the property before going inside to check it out.

They had not noticed a black nineties model Cadillac drive by slowly. The nice shiny black vehicle fit into the neighborhood well.

A few minutes later, they were still standing outside talking when it came back, this time showering the front yard of the house with gunshots from several guns. Glass could be heard shattering as bullets hit windows. Clouds of white snow dust puffed out of the ground as some rounds hit the mounds and drifts of snow and as some hit bricks in the walls of the house. Some bullets found themselves embedded in the trees.

Booth pushed Brennan down to the ground behind a tree before taking cover himself.

Then all was silent and still.

Brennan sat up and checked herself for wounds. She was okay after being pushed behind the tree, but her world started to spin upon seeing Booth laying next to her unconscious with blood coming from his head. The sight of her husband laying there seemingly lifeless and bleeding made her physically ill. Staying behind the tree, in case the car came back, she vomited as far away as she possibly could have.

Neighbors were already coming out of their houses to check out the noise and call the police.

Brennan looked around for their Realtor, and saw that she was tucked safely behind a tree not too far away with her hands over her ears and her eyes tightly drawn shut.

With rational thought finally coming back to her, she pushed the shock away and she took her jacket off and then her shirt off to press to Booth's wound to stop the blood flow.

All she could think about was a few years back when he'd been shot right in front of her as he took a bullet meant for her, and then being told he had died.

* * *

**Intense, right? I'm biting my nails, and I _know_ what happens. I won't leave you hanging for long. And if I do you have my permission to pester me until I update.**

**AND I'M STILL VERY EXCITED THAT ED IS PREGNANT! SHE'S GONNA BE A GREAT MOM!**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	51. Waking Her Prince, Disney Style

**Silly CrayonClown made a faux pas that the TV Bonesverse can get away with because we don't necessarily know how much time has passed between episodes. In Chapter 50, there was a blizzard, but in the last part of the last chapter, it was apparently warm enough for a pregnant Brennan to wear a t-shirt outside and for all of the snow to be melted enough that the bullets were hitting dirt even though in my Jelly Bean Bonesverse it was the very next day and mounds of snow from massive blizzards just don't disappear like that, so that has been fixed and corrected below as well as in the previous chapter. **

**I usually catch continuity mistakes like that, and I'm wondering why no one pointed it out to me? Maybe you didn't catch it; maybe you would have never known the difference had I not pointed it out. Or maybe you did and you were just conspiring against me… evil.**

* * *

_They had seen five houses already and it was approaching one in the afternoon. They were on their way to see the last one before going to have lunch to discuss what they've seen._

_They were standing outside listening to the Realtor relay information about the property before going inside to check it out._

_They had not noticed a black nineties model Cadillac drive by slowly. The nice shiny black vehicle fit into the neighborhood well._

_A few minutes later, they were still standing outside talking when it came back, this time showering the front yard of the house with gunshots from several guns. Glass could be heard shattering as bullets hit windows. Clouds of white snow dust puffed out of the ground as some rounds hit the mounds and drifts of snow and as some hit bricks in the walls of the house. Some bullets found themselves embedded in the trees._

_Booth pushed Brennan down to the ground behind a tree before taking cover himself._

_Then all was silent and still._

_Brennan sat up and checked herself for wounds. She was okay after being pushed behind the tree, but her world started to spin upon seeing Booth laying next to her unconscious with blood coming from his head. The sight of her husband laying there seemingly lifeless and bleeding made her physically ill. Staying behind the tree, in case the car came back, she vomited as far away as she possibly could have._

_Neighbors were already coming out of their houses to check out the noise and call the police._

_Brennan looked around for their Realtor, and saw that she was tucked safely behind a tree not too far away with her hands over her ears and her eyes tightly drawn shut._

_With rational thought finally coming back to her, she pushed the shock away and she took her jacket off and then her shirt off to press to Booth's wound to stop the blood flow._

_All she could think about was a few years back when he'd been shot right in front of her as he took a bullet meant for her, and then being told he had died._

.

"Booth! Booth! Stay with me, _please_," she begged. "It's me, Bones! I'm here." She broke down in sobs and kissed him, willing him to wake up.

She hoped that just as Prince Charming's kiss woke Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, that her kiss would wake her prince.

She didn't expect it to happen, but she had certainly hoped it would. Dare she even say she _prayed_ that it would work?

She wasn't expecting it, and that is exactly why when he did stir and wake up moaning, it startled her. She felt her heart pound up in her throat.

He brought his hands up to cradle his head where a huge knot was forming from where he had hit his head on the tree and knocked himself unconscious as he dove down to cover Brennan.

He swatted a hysterical Brennan's hand away from where she was holding pressure on his bleeding head.

"Bones? Ugh, what the hell? Are you okay? Did you get hit?"

"No, no I'm fine." She lowered her shaking hands.

Booth sat up and felt blood trickle down the side of his neck.

"What?" He put his hand up to the side of his head. He felt around and felt a flesh wound where the top of his ear met his head. "Oh, ugh. I'm bleeding."

"Are you okay, Booth? Were you hit?" Brennan turned his head with her hands and looked closer now that her shirt was no longer pressed to the wound. "It looks like a graze. I didn't think to look at it this closely before. I just saw blood and… panicked. I needed to stop the blood."

Sirens blared through the neighborhood, getting closer and closer to the scene.

"It's okay, Bones. You did well." Booth looked around to see the Realtor still sitting against the other tree. "Are you okay," he asked her.

She nodded, but didn't say a word in response.

"Bones, I think she's in shock," he whispered. He didn't want to upset her further.

"Booth, I think _I'm_ in shock. I can't stop shaking and my heart is racing still."

"Okay, Bones. Let's sit you back against this tree. We need to calm you down." Booth looked at her bare upper body against the white backdrop of snow and ice around them. Booth picked her shirt up and handed it to her. "Put this back on."

"It's bloody."

"Bones, it's _nine_ degrees outside. Put it back on. The jacket, too"

She put the shirt and jacket back on and closed the jacket tightly. She hadn't noticed how cold she was, until she'd put her clothing back on. Then she started scooting back toward the tree.

"Wait, Bones."

Booth shifted himself over to the tree staying low and behind cover. He sat with his back to the tree and pulled Brennan against him and wrapped his trench coat around as much of both of them as possible and then wrapped his arms around her.

"Just try to relax, Bones. The babies need you to calm down. We're both fine. The Realtor is fine," He whispered into her ear. His low voice and arms around her seemed to calm her down a little.

But she started crying again. Big long hard sobs escaped her throat.

"I—I th-though you were g-gone," she sniffled. "You were so lifeless and I saw the blood on your head. I thought you were d-de…" She couldn't bring herself to say it aloud.

"Oh, baby. Calm down. I'm fine. I'm here. Feel my heartbeat. Feel my warm hands on your face," he brought his palms up to her cheeks. "Focus on their movements and on the comfort they bring. Focus on my voice. Hear me, let my voice calm you. Close your eyes, baby, and just listen. Feel my chest against your back," he kept talking as her crying became harder periodically, "feel my arms around you. Feel my hands soothing you. Feel me breathing next to your ear. Hear my voice, Temperance. How are you doing?"

"I'm… just hold me."

The neighbors were all standing outside. Some meeting at the end of their driveways trying to get a closer look and to talk to each other to see what everyone knew about what happened, none of them having the guts to walk over to the scene to see if everything was alright. They could hear the voices and hysterical sobs and a calming stream of soft words, but no one could make out every word enough to get a real accurate picture as to what had happened or determine if everyone in the front yard of that house was okay. They didn't dare get closer in case someone had been mortally wounded or in case whoever just shot up one of the nicest houses in the neighborhood circled back to finish the job.

The sirens were getting louder, indicating they were approaching the scene and would be there within a matter of seconds.

The first to arrive on the scene was the police. Two officers stepped out of the car after the sirens had been shut off. They surveyed the area to make sure they were not in any danger.

Upon seeing the people huddled behind the tress they approached quickly and gathered information about the incident.

Booth had reached for his badge upon hearing the car pull up. He flashed it to the elder officer as he approached.

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth," he started still leaning against the tree with his wife tucked in his arms, "and this is my wife, Temperance. We were viewing this house with our Realtor when we were shot at. None of us have been hit," Brennan started to speak, but Booth squeezed her hand to indicate that she should let him finish talking, "but I think our Realtor is in shock. And my wife is twenty-three weeks pregnant with twins. It's a high risk pregnancy and I'm having troubles calming her down."

The younger officer had his notebook out and was taking notes of what Booth had been saying. The elder officer pointed to Booth, "Agent Booth, your head appears to be bleeding. Are you—"

"It was just a graze. I'll be fine. I'm worried about my wife."

The officer radioed for the ETA on the ambulance.

"It's on its way Agent Booth. Can you tell me what happened? What you saw?"

"We were standing in the driveway talking to the Realtor about this house. It's the sixth one we were looking at today. A dark car drove by and opened fire on us. It sounded like a few fully automatic weapons. The rounds were fired off very quickly. I only saw that it was a dark car, an older luxury model, nice. I was more concerned about protecting my wife. I shoved her behind the tree, and dove on top of her. I think I hit my head and knocked myself unconscious for a few minutes. If I hadn't, I would have tried to get a good look at the car as it drove away. Bones, did you see it?"

"Hmm?" She hadn't really been listening. She had her eyes shut and was still trying to focus on calming down.

"Did you see the car?" The officer repeated for her.

"Yes. Dark, older, shiny, tinted windows, I didn't see the plates. Cadillac, maybe?"

The younger officer continued to write as the information came from the couple, and then he pointed over to the Realtor. "What about her?" He walked over to her, "Ma'am, did you get a good look at the car?"

He didn't receive a response. She only stared straight ahead, visibly shaking. "Ma'am?" She looked at him, but made no response toward him in any other way.

"Sir," he addressed his superior partner, "I believe Agent Booth may be right; she's in shock."

"Okay."

Booth pulled his phone out.

"I need to make a phone call to Sam Cullen, the Deputy Director of the FBI. Yesterday we learned of a plot that was potentially threatening to my life; I feel that this is connected in some way. If someone has made an attempt on my life, that makes this a part of an existing federal investigation. Let me talk to him to see what I can get help with while we wait on the ambulance."

The officer nodded in agreement.

Booth did something that he had hoped he would never have to do. He called Cullen on his home line on the weekend.

"Sir, this is Agent Booth… Yes, sir, I'm aware, but Bones and I were just shot at… A drive by… Ah, no, we were looking at houses. Which means someone's been tailing us in order to know where we are… No, we are both fine. I was grazed by a bullet on the side of my head and Bo—Yes, sir, it was a close call. Bones is having a tough time staying calm. I need to get her away from this as soon as I can… Yes, sir, I'm listening."

Booth listened as Cullen made some decisions and told him what to do. He hung up and motioned the elder officer over. He had been briefing a new pair of officers that had just shown up at the scene while the younger of the two original officers guided the medical team to the young woman behind the other tree who was in shock.

"This has become a part of a federal investigation." Upon seeing the dejected mannerism that displayed disappointment that his case was getting taken away, Booth added, "Cullen wants you guys to finish up here. I have been authorized to offer you to stay on this case and aid in the investigation. I'm going to tell you up front that we think there is someone inside the FBI who wants me dead and they are going to extreme lengths to do so. If you stay on this case, Cullen will brief you on the details later. I do not have time right now, or I would tell you myself. We need to do some things to get you and your partner adequate security clearing first."

"Okay, so what do we do here?" He asked.

"Treat it as you would any crime scene. Cullen has sent for a few agents and crime scene techs to come assist. I need you to keep an eye out for _anything_ suspicious. We do not know who is behind this or who may have a loyalty to this person. We aren't sure who we can trust in the FBI, so watch them. Then after you are done here, meet us at the Medico-Legal Lab at the Jeffersonian Institute. It's safer than the Hoover at the moment."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, this is just for you and your partner only. The invitation does not extend to those greens that just showed up. Understand? I need experience, here. We do not have time to teach. Cullen is contacting your Sarge right now, and I gave him your names so that this can all be arranged. Now, Bones, come on and stand up with me. We need to get going. We need to go to the Jeffersonian."

"Sir, aren't you going to get your head looked at?"

"No, I'll be fine. I've got a good friend at the Jeffersonian that will patch me up. Stay sharp and keep an eye out."

"Alright, we'll see you later."

Booth and Brennan started toward Booth's SUV only to notice the flat tires and busted out windows and shattered glass littering the icy shale stones of the driveway.

"Great." Booth sighed.

"Now what," Brennan asked.

"Hey, Gomez!" Booth called out to the elder officer. "Mind if we take your cruiser?"

"Go ahead, I'll have the other guys drop us off."

He tossed his keys to Booth, and Booth removed the remote and key to the SUV from his key ring and tossed them to Gomez.

"Not that you'll be able to do anything with that, but I can't use them right now."

The officer looked at the SUV and laughed. "No kidding. I'm not sure you'll ever use these keys again. They'll have to get you a new ride."

**B&B**

Booth had called Cam and the squints on the way to the Jeffersonian. He made sure Cam knew to bring medical supplies with her to look at his head and she discreetly offered to bring a mild sedative for Brennan if it was needed. Booth told her to bring it just in case, with Brennan none the wiser.

Then he called Rebecca to make sure that she and his son were okay and that no one was after them there. Once he was assured that they were fine, he hung up his phone.

On a whim he turned the police cruiser around and headed to their apartment anyway.

"Bones, we're going to pick them up and take them with us. The security at the lab is one of the best in DC. It puts the Hoover to shame. I just need to make sure that nothing happens to them. Ya know?"

"I know. I agree. If these people have been trailing us to know where we were, they had to have been following us from somewhere. It isn't unreasonable to make an educated intuitive leap that they know where we live and have been following us since leaving this morning."

Booth drove a little faster, with the sirens blaring through the streets and the lights whirling above them.

"Booth?"

"Hmm?"

"What if they are following us now?"

"I don't think they would be. They just caused a commotion, the last thing they are going to want to do is hang around and get caught. They'll lay low for a bit, but we should stay alert."

"We should grab some clothes, too. I don't have any that fits me in my office anymore, and we're both covered in your blood."

"Right, and Parker doesn't need to see my head this way. Could you do a quick dressing on my head while we are at home?"

"Sure."

**B&B**

The three adults and Parker emerged from the cruiser with bags in hand and ran from the cruiser and got onto the elevator to take them up from the parking garage. Cullen and the squints were already there waiting when they arrived.

"Booth, where have you been? We've been worried that something else had happened," Hodgins said.

"No, I just decided that I needed to bring Rebecca and Parker here because the security is good."

Brennan added, "We thought about it, and if they had been trailing us, it was likely they trailed us from home. So they knew where we lived, and we couldn't leave them there like sitting ducks."

She elbowed Booth slightly, "Did I get that right?"

"Yeah, baby. You did," he whispered.

He turned to Rebecca, and he tossed her Brennan's keys, "Take Parker to Bones' office; it's the big round gold key."

Parker grabbed the keys. "I know which one!" And he took off and headed toward Brennan's office.

"Seeley, has someone looked at your head?" Cam asked, noting the hasty bandage and dried blood on his skin where he had not had time to clean it off.

"Bones did, briefly. It's a flesh wound. Could you patch me up, while we wait on the two officers from the scene to get here?"

Cam led him to her office where they could sit and she could concentrate on his wound. Cullen followed after them and gained the details from Booth.

Angela took Brennan to her office and laid her down in there and covered her up with the soft blanket that was draped over her couch. Brennan was still on edge and knew she needed to calm down. It just wasn't happening. She was stressed and she was starting to develop a headache.

Angela turned off her lights and left the anthropologist to relax while they waited on the officers from the crime scene.

Despite the fact that Brennan was trying to relax and had the light blocked out and the noise to a minimum with the door closed, her mind kept wandering to the events that happened.

Seeing her husband laying there lifeless with a bloody head right after the shooting; her initial knee-jerk reaction had already written him off as dead. The only thing that indicated he was still alive to her was the foggy breaths he had been exhaling. She couldn't actually see his chest moving up and down with his breathing because of the trench coat and winter clothing. He was so still and so limp looking. And the blood. There was blood coming from his head. What other conclusion was she supposed to draw from that scenario? Everything, save for the foggy breathing, pointed to the thing her mind dreaded most.

Cam fixed Booth's head. He'd ended up needed several stitches. She'd also probed the bump on his head (much to Booth's displeasure) to make sure that he didn't actually fracture anything beneath the tissue and checked his pupillary light reflex to make sure he had sustained no brain trauma when he hit the tree with his head. At least with the bullet wound, he had been used to that pain, and was given a topical anesthetic followed by a local injection to dull the pain. The bump on his head was different. A big hematoma had quickly developed under the scraped up skin. It was tender to the touch, and he winced and hissed every time she pushed on it.

As he talked with Cullen, he mentioned that this past week they were supposed to have gone to Los Angeles for their Babymoon, but had changed plans almost at the last minute, and never even bothered to cancel their plane tickets because they were past the deadline to do so. They were already out the money so they just didn't bother with it. Booth mentioned thinking that it was weird that they were supposed to go to LA and then when they didn't he comes back to find out that he was wanted to go undercover, by specific request of someone at the LA FBI office, as a drug dealer looking to get an in with the associates of an LA mob in the DC area. He told Cullen that he felt like this meant that something was supposed to happen in LA, but since they went to North Carolina instead, an arrangement had been made to take care of business there in DC, but was once again foiled when Cullen denied the request from him to go undercover. After that, it seemed that someone decided to take matters into their own hands. Cullen was hard pressed to find out who the special request for Booth to be on the case came from. He still hadn't been able to get a straight answer on that front. No one seemed to _know_ anything about it. Not even Agent Taylor Sullivan knew who the request had come from. She had received orders from someone who had received them from someone else. It seemed to be a giant train of orders being passed from agent to agent with no real origination. Someone in the LA office was lying.

It was two more hours of waiting before the officers had been dropped off at the Jeffersonian. Gomez had reported to Booth and Cullen that they had observed nothing that had raised any suspicions; not from the agents that were sent, nor the FBI techs that were sent to catalogue evidence. Cullen was grateful for their cooperation and recommended that they stay on board since he didn't know who among his own men he could trust. Just because they hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary at the scene, didn't mean that someone wasn't reporting back to whomever the order for the hit had come from right then.

The techs that had come in with Gomez and his partner brought with them all of the bullet fragments that could be retrieved. Pictures of tire prints were taken. It was the best they could do, given the circumstances of the snow and ice. That also meant that they couldn't take rubber or particulate samples to positively link any tire or car to that drive by. All in all, every piece of the puzzle they had seemed to belong to entirely different puzzles.

The only thing that they had been able to determine that afternoon was that the bullets left at the scene indicated the use of two different guns, likely to be Glock 18s. The rounds they had recovered at the scene were all 9mm and preliminary ballistics showed that there were two barrel patterns indicating the use of two guns. Booth was able to disclose the fact that before he knocked himself unconscious, he had distinctly heard fully automatic weapons being fired based on the number of rapidly fired rounds.

The problem was that Glock 18s were extremely rare and definitely not just readily available to anyone in the market to buy one due to their fully automatic capabilities, and here they had been fired upon by two. This was confusing to all because crime syndicates usually did what they could to obtain commonly used weapons in order to make it hard to trace back to their weapons.

That indicated that this was more than just a hit being put out by the Pirelli Family's DC associates. It was suspected that they were still involved in some way. They seemed to have been the tool of the plot to eliminate Booth from the start of this thing. So they weren't ruling anything out at this point.

Arrangements were made for everyone close to Booth to stay at Hodgins' _fortress_ until further notice. Parker was getting restless and hungry. He didn't understand why the adults were talking in hushed tones around him and running around outside of Brennan's office. And he was getting frustrated that no one would tell him anything, as usual. He knew from the bags they had packed that they were going to be there for a while and that they weren't going back home tonight.

He also knew that something serious had happened.

Why else would his dad be wearing a bandage on one side of his head and have a huge scraped up knot of the other side of his forehead?

Also he knew that Bones was very shaken up and she definitely didn't act like herself the last time he had seen her which was several hours ago now. He knew it had to be bad if someone as strong as a person as she was took a break to just relax and calm down while everyone else ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. It wasn't like her to delegate duties when there was work to be done.

Even though there was no body to examine, Parker knew that body or no, she was always inserting herself in the middle of the situation to help in any way she could be of assistance to his dad. And frankly, the fact that she wasn't, scared him.

Angela was thinking the same thing, unknown to Parker. She had been sitting with Parker and his mother as they sat there playing a few games that she had grabbed from her office. She decided to get up and check on Brennan, and Parker wanted to go with her. Rebecca convinced him to stay in Brennan's office and stay out of the way because they didn't need to worry about him running around the lab while they tried to figure out what was going on.

Angela entered her office; it was still dark and she could hear Brennan's restless breathing and shifting where she lay on the large couch. She turned on one of the lamps over at one of her work stations so that she didn't blind Brennan with the full powered fluorescent over head lighting.

"Bren, sweetie? Are you awake?"

Brennan sighed, heavily, "Yes, I've never been to sleep. I can't stop thinking, and this headache is… killing me."

Warning bells were going off in Angela's mind. She couldn't remember why, but she knew that headaches in pregnant women were not a good sign.

"Sweetie, I'm going to go get Booth. He'll come in here and talk to you a little bit. Parker's hungry and I'm sure everyone could use a dinner break about now. It'll do Booth some good to come in here and get away from all of that out there. I'll be back."

It wasn't a lie; she was going to get Booth.

It just wasn't the _whole_ truth; she was also going to get Cam.

Angela knew that if Brennan was complaining of a headache that it must be bad; her friend didn't complain of anything as mundane as a headache, ever, and she certainly didn't use such terms as _killing me_, metaphorically or otherwise.

Not too long after that, Booth came through the door followed by Angela and Cam who were conversing and making it look as if Cam was there to continue the conversation rather than being there to check on Brennan. They finished the last of their conversation before any attention was turned to Brennan. Of course, being as oblivious as only Brennan can be, she was none the wiser about Cam's presence.

Even while Cam asked her personal questions about how she was doing, Brennan didn't suspect anything.

"How are you doing? Any abdominal pain, bleeding, nausea, headache, anything?" She asked nonchalantly. "Booth said he pushed you down into the ground pretty hard."

Brennan understood that as a valid reason to ask the questions so the readily answered.

"I had a some nausea right after the shooting and seeing Booth like—like _that_," she said, begging with her eyes that no one ask what she meant by putting it that way. They all pretty much knew. Booth had told them. "I did vomit before he woke up. I've had a headache ever since, and I just can't stop thinking about how _close_ of a call it _really_ was."

"How bad is the headache? You said you've had it ever since this afternoon, correct?" Cam confirmed as she pulled out an arm cuff and a stethoscope. She took Brennan's blood pressure. Her face grew ashen as the minute passed and she catalogued the numbers in her memory as she schooled her features.

But not quick enough for Booth to miss. He knew that look. He knew Cam. Something was wrong, and she was downplaying it for Brennan's sake.

"I'm going to go get some Pamprin. As a female, you know that it is normally used for relief from menstrual cramps and headaches. It has a tiny bit of caffeine in it that will take care of that headache." It was true Cam did plan to give her that, but she also planned to slip in that sedative pill with the others. "It's in my office. I'll be right back."

She walked out with Booth hot on her heels.

"Alright, Cam, spill. What's wrong with Bones?"

"Her blood pressure is dangerously high. It is what is causing the headaches. I plan to give her that sedative. You're going to call her doctor. Then we are taking her straight to the hospital while she is not in complete control of her actions so that she cannot stop us."

Booth made a face of disapproval.

"I don't like this any more than you do, but you know that with everything going on around here, she will not willingly go on her own. It's the only way to get her to calm down."

"By drugging her?" He threw his hands up in the air and cursed.

"Essentially, yes. But _sedating_ is a much nicer term for it; don't you think? It's the only way we are going to get her to the hospital and you know it. Seeley, she is on the verge of stroke and going into labor. At just twenty-three weeks, there isn't even a fifty percent chance of survival. The lungs…"

"…are just now starting to form air sac thingies. I know. Bones told me this morning." He looked at her for a few long seconds searching for any other way.

He finally nodded. "Alright. Let's do this. She's going to kick my ass for this. You know that, right?"

* * *

**Oh no! Another cliffy! Jen is being mean isn't she? Once again, feel free to pester.**

**Oh, come on, you knew I wasn't going to seriously injure Booth. Hell, I couldn't even send him away on a dangerous case. Please don't hate me for scaring you like that. :)**

**P.S. This was half an hour from having two consecutive days where a chapter was posted. That's awesome right? I imagine, I will work on this one a lot more tomorrow as I do not have to go to work until 2:40! **

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	52. Waking His Princess, Disney Style

**Second update in a day? Holy smokes!**

* * *

When Brennan awoke, it was under the lips of her husband.

A strong smell of antiseptic and the humid almost bitter smell of pure oxygen filled her olfactory senses.

A sense of déjà vu plagued her, but somehow she felt much calmer this time. She sensed that it had something to do with her husband staring right back at her.

She had a cannula in her nose administering oxygen, and she reached up to pull it off. As she did so, she felt a tug on top of her left hand where an intravenous drip was firmly taped to the outside of her skin. She reached for that too, but ultimately decided that if she was in the hospital that there was likely a good reason.

She looked around with several questions on her mind.

She hated waking up in strange places with spatial disorientation.

She stared up with flashing eyes to her Booth, "What happened? Why am I in the hospital?"

"If I tell you, you have you remain very calm. Do you understand? This is very serious."

"Well, don't you think that if you don't tell me that I would stress over _not_ knowing?"

"Good point." Booth looked down. He needed to tell her the whole truth; he knew she would eventually ask _how_ she got there in the first place, so that's where he started rather than with the _why_. "Cam sedated you, and we brought you to the hospital."

"That's extremely underhanded, why on earth would you _drug_ me?"

"Stay calm, and you should use the term _sedate_, it sounds much nicer." He shrugged, "That's what Camille told me, and I agree it does sound much—" One look at her fiery face and he knew he should just start explaining, "Do you remember the headache you had?"

"Yes, it's gone now. Did you bring me here for just a headache? That is a poor use of hospital resources and a waste of these doctors' and nurses' time."

"No, Bones, this was a very serious issue. Cam took your blood pressure; do you remember that?"

"Vaguely, and then she gave me some Pamprin because of the caffeine and… that's when she did it, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Were you in on that? Did you give her permission?"

"Bones your blood pressure was sky high."

"What was it?"

"165/102; Cam said something about that being considered uh… _stage two hypertension._"

"Damn it. What did they give me?" She sat up and tried to look up at the IV bags that were hanging on her cart.

"Hide-ur-limousine?"

"Hydralazine."

"Yeah, that."

She looked at her monitor showing her vitals, and then she looked over to the machine connected to the cuff on her upper arm after it started pumping air into in to take her blood pressure. She hadn't even realized that she had a cuff on her arm until the moment it started airing up.

"When this is done, it will print something," She indicated to the trail of receipt paper flowing out of the side of the machine, "I want you to grab it and give it to me."

It finished taking her blood pressure and, as she said, printed some information on the paper. Booth tore it off and looked at it; it looked like just a bunch of numbers to him. He handed it to her.

"It's still a little high. It's higher than it was half an hour ago," she said, looking at previous printouts. "It's probably because I'm awake now. What time is it?"

Booth looked nervous.

_Just tell her. It will be less stressful on her if she just knows_.

"It's just after noon," he said looking at his watch.

_Why does he still look nervous?_

"Bones, it's Monday. We brought you here on Saturday."

Her brow burrowed and she took a deep breath. "Why was I out for so long?"

"At first, they just gave you the Hydralazine and they were going to let the sedative that Cam gave you wear off and it would be fine, but when you woke up they couldn't keep you calm. I wasn't here when you woke up that time, and you thought that something had happened to me. I left here briefly to escort everyone from the Jeffersonian to Hodgins' place. And you happened to wake up while I was gone, and when they couldn't calm you down they thought it would be good to keep you sedated for a little bit and let you sleep while the medicine did more work to keep your blood pressure in a good target range. They weaned you from the drip of Vistaril about half an hour ago to allow you to wake up."

"You left me here, alone?"

"No, baby. Cam was here, along with Gomez. You were safe, but you just didn't want Cam; you wanted me."

She was trying to process the information that she had just been given. It was hard to think still. Her mind was foggy from the sedatives. She hated this feeling.

Brennan didn't fault Booth for agreeing to let Cam sedate her. He'd made the right decision based on what he told her Cam said her blood pressure was. She also knew that it was likely that she would insist on staying at the Jeffersonian. However, if someone had simply just told her what her blood pressure was running she would have willingly went to the hospital.

What's done is done, and that cannot be changed. There were other things to worry about.

And from Booth's appearance, she could tell that he was running on empty.

One look into her questioning eyes and he blurted the first thing that came to mind, "They all know about the twins," and then he kept rambling, "Well, I assume they know by now. Cam can be a lot like Angela when she wants to be. I had to tell Cam before she sedated you. I didn't want there to be any complications. I didn't know if there would be any effects or if it would be harmful."

"I understand telling Cam, but I don't understand, why would she tell anyone else? It isn't her news to share."

"Like I said, she can be a lot like Angela. Give her something juicy and she'll run wild with it, especially if she has a vested interest in it."

He thought back to their conversation.

"_I don't like this any more than you do, but you know that with everything going on around here, she will not willingly go on her own. It's the only way to get her to calm down."_

"_By drugging her?" He threw his hands up in the air and cursed._

"_Essentially, yes. But _sedating_ is a much nicer term for it; don't you think? It's the only way we are going to get her to the hospital and you know it. Seeley, she is on the verge of stroke and going into labor. At just twenty-three weeks, there isn't even a fifty percent chance of survival. The lungs…"_

"…_are just now starting to form air sac thingies. I know. Bones told me this morning." He looked at her for a few long seconds searching for any other way. _

_He finally nodded. "Alright. Let's do this. She's going to kick my ass for this. You know that, right?"_

"_Not my wife, not my ass, not my problem. You _know_ this is the only way."_

"_She's pregnant with twins. Does that change anything? Is it safe?"_

"_It's safe," Cam assured after getting a self-satisfied smile on her face._

"_What is that look for, Camille?"_

"_I knew it! I just did. I knew there was _no way_ she was as big as she is and only carrying one child. There's this pool…"_

"_Oh, good grief! _More_ betting pools! You people are worse gamblers than I _ever_ was!"_

"Vested interest?" Brennan asked.

"Don't worry about that right now. Don't worry about anything. We've got things under control. You know, even Cullen and his wife are staying at Hodgins' place? I think Cullen has almost pummeled the Bug-man a few times for some of the crazy conspiracy theory shit he spews."

"So when you said you escorted everyone to Hodgins' place?"

"I meant _everyone_. Everyone involved in the investigation. Of course, I'm not allowed near any part of this case because Caroline and Cullen won't let me. They are actually reluctant to have our team on the case, but we know that we can trust them, and that's good enough for Cullen. He's pissed that he doesn't know who among his men are moles and have loyalties elsewhere. The FBI is facing huge scrutiny once this is all said and done. It'll be a miracle if the media doesn't take this and run with it, twisting and skewing facts as they go."

"Has anything been figured out yet?"

"This morning, we found out that the request for me to work the dangerous undercover case came from some guy in the LA office, a Justin Miller."

Brennan brought her hand up to her hair and nervously ran her fingertips through her hair.

"Justin Miller?" She squeaked.

"Yeah. Bones, do you know him?" Booth narrowed his eyes.

"Not personally, no, but I've heard _of_ him. From Andrew," she whispered.

"What?" Booth still didn't follow.

"It's Hacker!" She said more forcefully.

"_What_? There's something I'm missing here; care to fill me in!"

"When we had that dinner date, you know, when I shared too much about your mom's meatloaf?" Booth nodded and gulped. "Well, before that and before I got called away from the date, he told me about being proud of his half brother, Justin Miller, for getting a promotion in the LA office to Special Agent in Charge in the Major Crimes division."

She was speaking really fast and hoped that Booth caught everything she had said. This could be their big break in the case. The thing that finally links the request from LA to the DC incidents.

"The request came from Hacker's half brother? Okay, that's _not_ a coincidence! I—I've got to go call Cullen. We need to get someone here who can take an official statement from you about this. Unfortunately, it can't be me."

**B&B**

Cullen came to the hospital, personally, to do the honors. He didn't need this information getting in the wrong hands. He brought Caroline with him and she sat in the room while Brennan recounted how she knew the connection.

Pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together.

And the man had one of the oldest motives in the world.

Jealousy.

He'd been taken on a nice date, which was cut short by the man that was now her husband.

He'd been planning to take Brennan to the Anuk Exhibit at the museum, a date that she had canceled and he later found out that it was because she went with her now husband.

She'd declined his many invitations for coffee and concerts, probably because of Booth.

She'd returned his mix tape, once again, probably because Booth gave her something better.

He was not invited to the wedding. That just really pissed him off. He thought that Booth was at least his friend.

He was turned away from the wedding reception. That stung, especially coupled with the sneer that he received from Cullen as the door shut in his face.

She'd single-handedly manhandled him after he'd went up and touched her stomach. That, _that_ was embarrassing, more than anything.

Oh, yeah. He had the motive.

And he had the means to do it. He didn't get where he was in life by earning it through actual skill. He got there by schmoozing his way to the top. He was well liked, and he was likely to have loyalties among those directly underneath him.

He had a brother in a decent position in the LA FBI headquarters.

His family was wealthy, not overly so, but enough that they were able to all have certain hobbies. His father was a gun enthusiast. It wasn't far-fetched to think that the fully automatic Glocks came from him. It wasn't far-fetched to think that Hacker and his brother had somehow struck some sort of deal with the Pirelli Family and their DC associates to help get rid of Booth. The classy rare guns would even throw off suspicion from the normal MO of the Pirelli Family.

All that was left was finding the hard evidence such as the guns, car, and link them all to the people who were suspected to be involved. That started with bringing in Hacker for questioning by Cullen, Caroline, and even the big cheese himself, Robert Mueller.

The intimidation brought on by this pack of interrogatory wolves caused Hacker to cave instantly and spill every bit of it. Everyone who was involved, the weapons, the car, the specific people in that had helped him, how he'd actually blackmailed his hardworking straight-laced brother into helping him. Everything. He knew that there was no use in hiding it. The people on Booth and Brennan's team were good and it was only a matter of time before they found the hard evidence they needed.

Upon bringing the news to Brennan that Hacker had confessed and that they were now relatively safe. She'd been so elated that she could finally relax and not have this feeling of dread and fear hanging over her constantly. Now she could focus solely on staying calm for the babies.

While Booth had been out, getting dinner for himself, the doctor came in and examined her. He told her that all looked to be fine now and that she really should stay in bed for a few days. He told her he would like to keep her for observation for a few more days, and she actually accepted that.

She knew how serious her condition was, and she knew that if she let herself go back to her life at home now, that it was likely to only worsen rather than get better. Bed rest for a few days sounded really good to her. She wasn't looking forward to the boredom, but she found that she was rather anxious to keep the peace and quiet that she had been experiencing in the hospital. It was some of the best deep rest she'd had in a long time.

The doctor had also said that while she wasn't on _strict_ bed rest, it looked as though she could easily head down that road if she didn't take leave and relax in a completely stress free environment.

**B&B**

In the days following the close of the case, things slowly returned to normal. Those who had been thrown under the bus by Hacker, including his brother, a few lackeys beneath him, and a handful of thugs from the Pirelli Family and their associates were locked up awaiting their arraignments.

The team slowly vacated the Hodgins' estate and returned to their homes. Rebecca continued to stay at Booth and Brennan's apartment with Parker.

Brennan informed Cam of taking her maternity leave, effective immediately. Cam had already suspected as much and made arrangements for all of the interns to be on board daily to make up for the slack. Brennan really did single-handedly cut through an astounding number of cold case identifications from deep bone storage daily. She knew she would need all hands on deck to make up for her absence.

Booth had been given a few more days off in order to get things settled with his wife being on bed rest for a few days. Cullen had also seen the lack of rest affect the agent greatly. He also saw the weight of guilt the man carried, knowing that he was the target that brought all of this onto the people who was close to him, and he saw that it ate him alive, just how close of a call it had been in front of that house.

He'd seen many agents quit over less.

He knew that Booth's intense sense of pride, duty, and service to his country wouldn't ever just let him quit, but Cullen knew that he deserved a break from that for a few more days. He needed to make sure that that sense of honor that Booth felt never wavered. If that ever happened he knew he would lose a fantastic agent, and very likely the aid that came in the form of the forensic anthropologist that came attached to his hip.

Through the course of the rest of the week, Brennan was showered with well wishes and visits from her friends and team.

Her father had also come to see her. Apparently, he had been instrumental in maintaining security at Hodgins' estate while everyone was there at night for safety.

Press had gotten word of her hospitalization. The case had been kept hush-hush, but she was still a very public figure who was hospitalized. She released only a statement that she and the twins we doing fine to her publicist. The news of the twins spread like wildfire.

On Thursday of that week, she received a call of well wishes from their realtor who had been with them at the time of the shooting. She was doing much better, and she called to offer to schedule more appointments with the couple if they were still interested in buying a house at this time.

She talked it over with Booth, and decided that they would still like to continue with the search. She called the woman back and set up a time for Booth to go look at the houses.

Brennan was still in the hospital, but honestly she realized that all she needed was a home that would accommodate her family, and it really didn't matter to her. Booth insisted that she be involved, so while he was touring each house he had her on video call and showed her the houses by taking a video walk-through and explaining different features and amenities over the phone.

They ultimately decided on a beautiful one-story, five bedroom, three bath, red-brick home with a spacey four car garage and a swimming pool on a fenced lot, which just happened to be very near Hodgins' estate. They had agreed that the neighborhood would provide top notch security for the family as well as the wrought iron fence that surrounded the property.

Booth knew that they would have to dig into Bones' stash of money outside of their equally joint account for a down payment, but he was so overjoyed about buying a house to live in with Brennan and his family that he really didn't give a rat's ass if she paid for the whole thing or if her father had robbed a bank and paid for it himself. He really truly didn't care. The important thing was that they had all made it through the week with everyone alive and intact.

* * *

**So what do we think about the resolution of that one? **

**Hopefully, everyone's relieved that I didn't do anything to harm the babies or anyone else on the team.**

**So, there's another product of my hatred for that boob, Andrew Hacker**.

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	53. Moving On

**I am truly sorry for making everyone wait for an update, especially after spoiling you all with updates three days in a row. I realize that it's been almost a month. **

**"Moving On" ****-The title of this one has several meanings. Booth and Brennan are moving on from what happened and taking the next step with their family by getting a big house. They are quite literally moving, but really it's even more than that. Booth told Brennan on the steps of the Hoover that he had to move on, and while that's been quite some time ago in their story, it is still significant in that they are moving on together.  
**

**Now, the part you've been so patiently waiting for...**

* * *

Booth and Brennan made the most of their time while Brennan was in the hospital. The offer on the house had gone through and was accepted the same day. The house had been on the market for a while and the owner was about ready to reduce the asking price. Booth called around and made arrangements for painters to come in to paint the rooms in their new house so they would be ready. Brennan made calls to landscapers to get rid of some bushes that she'd hated upon seeing on the video tour of the house. She wanted something a little more colorful and inviting. She also arranged for movers so that they didn't have to do it themselves.

Being Saturday the 18th, they didn't have a lot of free time before Christmas, and they were anxious to get everything done before Christmas so that they could have some family over. They both agreed that the quickest way to get everything done would be to hire people to do it so they could get their Christmas shopping done, relax, and keep Brennan calm. It helped that they had done most of their Christmas shopping while visiting her brother.

One of the first things Booth had moved over to the new house was his car that was sitting in Hodgins' garage. He was so excited to finally have it in a place where he could go anytime he wanted. He'd had that luxury at Hodgins' place as well, but the inconvenience of the location did limit his car time.

On top of arranging for those things, Booth called a contractor to convert the bare basement into a habitable and enjoyable room for his obligatory man cave. They painted the cinder blocks in the team colors for the Philadelphia Flyers. A mini bar had been installed as well as an area with theater seating. It would also give him a place for all of his knick-knacks that they had been forced put into storage when he and Parker moved in with Bones.

As they were discharging Brennan late on Saturday, Booth received a call from Caroline Julian. She wanted Booth to go to the Hoover to go over his statement, as he still hadn't given it. He'd spent all of his time with Brennan and arranging for everything else that he just hadn't slowed down enough to do that, and if he was being honest, he really had no interest in talking about the day that he had to push his pregnant wife down to the ground to save her from getting shot to death or anything that came after that. It had been entirely too close for his comfort. They had come to the hospital to get Brennan's a few days ago, and being the weekend, Caroline was anxious to get his statement before Monday. She was trying to put together cases and she wanted to be ready to start chopping heads and severing limbs come Monday morning. Booth understood, and so he finally gave in and decided to just get it over with.

Booth called Angela away from the team of people, who were packing everything up so they wouldn't have to worry about it, at their apartment, to come take his wife home. He told Angela on the phone to, "take her straight home, do not stop by the lab, do not pass go, and do not collect two hundred dollars."

Booth was already gone when Angela showed up, and Brennan was nervous to be left alone with her friend. They had not been alone with each other since everyone had learned about the twins because it seemed like everyone was always visiting her at the same time and she was nervous about what her friend was going to say about them keeping the news from her and everyone else. Sure, they had planned on telling them about it, but they clearly hadn't gotten that far and it had taken an emergency to get the news out and she was certain that she'd hurt Angela by not telling her right away, especially since Angela was technically there at that appointment when she found out.

Angela walked in to a teary-eyed Brennan and her face contorted as she saw Angela enter her room and more tears fell.

"I'm sorry Angela. I didn't mean to keep it a secret."

Of course, Angela had gotten over that a few days ago, but Brennan's pregnant brain couldn't get rid of the guilt. Angela was just glad that her friends were okay after all they had been through that day.

"Sweetie, I don't know what you're talking about, but you need to calm down. If you don't they won't let you go home."

"I didn't tell you and I'm sorry. You were with me when I found out. You excused yourself to go to the bathroom when Doctor Matthews told me what he suspected and I didn't tell you. I didn't mean to hurt you by not saying anything. We just wanted something to ourselves for a bit and then we realized how selfish that was and we were going to tell everyone, but this all happened first and we didn't get a chance and now you're mad at meee." Brennan dissolved from her long-winded whine into a cry.

Angela couldn't even understand half of the words (were they even words?) coming from her best friends mouth, but she got the last part loud and clear.

"Sweetie, I am not mad at you for anything. There's no way I could ever be mad at you and stay mad enough for it to affect our friendship or us. Bren, look at me."

Brennan wiped furiously at her eyes to swipe the tears away, but then focused her teary gray eyes on Angela's dark brown eyes.

"I'm not mad. Look at this beautiful smiling face; do I look mad?"

Brennan shook her head no.

"But I'm horrible at reading people. You know that and just because you don't look mad… Ange, that does mean anything. Booth is very good at hiding his emotions."

"I'm not Booth, and I'm definitely not you. I don't compartmentalize. I am transparent. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. In fact, there might as well be a neon sign above my head telling people how I feel."

Brennan's crying had stopped. She was glad that she was getting ready to go home and that all of the monitors had been taken off of her earlier or she just knew that she would be asked to stay for further monitoring if she couldn't keep herself calm.

"Ange? Take me home please. I'm ready to be out of here. I'm sick of this bed, the smell, the sounds, the annoying brain-numbing beeping from the monitors that are thankfully finally off."

"Sure, let me get one of those hot young orderlies I passed on my way in here to wheel you out."

Angela came back with a middle-aged female nurse and Brennan had to laugh. "Angela, I believe your standards for what qualifies as hot have changed."

"Haha! Good one, Bren." Angela grabbed Brennan's things and what few arrangements of flowers Booth hadn't taken with him earlier.

**B&B**

On the drive back to the apartment, Brennan told Angela everything she wanted to know that she had yet to hear, personally, from the female half of the epic partnership.

Angela started talking about nurseries and getting things set up and setting up a baby shower and soon the words were just swirling around Angela's van and Brennan's head faster than she could absorb any of it.

"Ange! How about we just get through moving and Christmas first. Please?"

Hearing the desperation in Brennan's voice Angela nodded and quieted down a little.

"So how much has been packed?" Brennan asked. She had lived in that apartment for just about a decade now and she was sad to be leaving it. She was afraid that she'd walk in there and see her stuff all packed up and ready to go whether she was ready or not.

Of course, she knew she was ready to have a home with her husband and their sons, but this was more change. And Booth had once told her that pyramids were better at change than she was. She just had to keep reminding herself that this change was completely necessary in order to have everything she wants. There was no way that her expanding family could stay where they were. Not even if Parker lived with his mother could they stay where they were now, not with two more Booths on the way.

The more Brennan thought about the change, the more she realized that the anxiousness that she felt wasn't because of nerves it was because of anticipation. She very much looked forward to everything that came with the bigger house. She looked forward to having enough room to breathe when she needed to. She looked forward to having a den where she and Booth could bring home their work when they needed to. She looked forward to having a family room where everyone could gather and spend time together. She looked forward to having a big yard where the kids could grow up and play freely and swim in their pool, and maybe they would get a dog. She'd always wanted one. So she looked forward to that, too. She also looked forward to finally having enough room for all of her husband's vintage collectibles that had been stored away for months. She missed seeing them over at his old apartment. She looked forward to seeing them again and seeing the joy that the items seemed to bring Booth. She also looked forward to going out into their large garage to lounge around reading her scholarly journals while he worked on his car or hovering over him asking questions to the point of frustration for Booth and he'd get mad and of course due to her hormones, she'd cry and he'd feel bad, which she'd learned on a couple of occasions, would ultimately lead to greasy sweaty frantic make-up sex either up against the car or inside the car.

She looked forward to all of it.

"Bren, were you even listening?"

"What?"

"Hun, typically when you ask a question it is considered polite to listen to the answer, but judging by the look on your face, you don't even remember that you asked a question."

Brennan thought for a second. _Damn_. She really didn't remember her own question. "Of course I remember. Just answer the question again, please."

She figured that she could figure out what question she asked based on the answer.

And she would have been right, if Angela had a brain the size of a pea, which she most definitely did not.

"Uh huh, sure. What was it then?"

_Damn._

"Ugh," Angela smirked at the frustrated sound that emanated from her friend. "I don't know what I asked. Please tell me?"

"You asked how much has been packed."

"Oh, well we're here already, so it's pointless to answer the question now. I'll see for myself in a few seconds."

Brennan walked into her home to see a few boxes stacked up against one of the walls that were void of shelves. Everything had been taken down from the shelves in her living room and packed away already. Only a few things remained.

Hodgins and Sweets were relaxing and taking a break on the couch.

"Hey, Doctor B," Hodgins greeted her. He stood and took some of the things from her hands and set them on a bare end table. "Come sit, and let the rest of us take care of everything."

"Well, is there anything that I can do? I don't want to just sit here while everyone works. That hardly seems fair."

"Nah, we've got it covered." He hugged her and rubbed his hands on the sides of her abdomen as he spoke. "You're only job is to sit there and take care of those babies. Please don't scare us like that again."

"Angela! You're husband is fawning over me. Could you do something, please?"

"He's just happy you're okay. Let him get it out of his system. I don't want him to turn it onto me later."

Sweets had excused himself to the kitchen when Hodgins ushered Brennan to the couch a few minutes before. When he returned, he presented a glass of water and a bowl of fruit to Brennan. She took the bowl and sat on the couch.

"I just thought that you might be thirsty or that you may not have eaten in a while. Lunch was a while ago."

"Thank you, Doctor Sweets." Brennan took a grape and popped it into her mouth. The ravenous noise of approval garnered a laugh from everyone. She looked up at the others in the room, "What?"

The typical response of "Nothing," came from the men while Angela rolled her eyes and said, "You're just so damn adorable, Bren."

"I am not." She ate a few more pieces of fruit in silence before growing self-conscious over the people watching her. "So, how much is left to do?"

"Parker and Rebecca have already packed Parker's room and are helping Cam pack up the big stuff in the kitchen right now. Wendell and Vincent packed up the hall closets and bathroom and are packing up the office now. We've already done the living room, well, mostly anyway, as you can see. All that is left is the linen closet, master bedroom, bathroom and closet, which we figured we would leave to you and Booth," said Hodgins, "even though I know at least two people in this room who wouldn't mind going through your personal things to snoop," he looked at Angela, "or to do some crazy psychoanalysis thing," he looked at Sweets.

"Hey, I'm here as a friend helping friends. The shrink cap isn't on today."

_Yeah, right,_ Brennan thought to herself.

An almost awkward silence fell over them, but thankfully, it didn't last long before an excited Parker came barreling out of the kitchen and landed with a thud on the couch next to Brennan.

Everyone else in the room watched for a moment before taking it upon themselves to find something to start packing. Break time was over.

"Bones! I'm glad you're home." He gave her a big hug and didn't seem to want to let her go. "So, dad told me I'm going to have _two_ brothers!"

"Yeah, Park. Are you okay with that?"

"What? Are you kidding?" He asked quickly. "Of course I'm okay with it. I'm going to teach them everything I know."

"Are you sure? Because it would be okay if it made you feel uneasy or upset. You don't need to be afraid to tell us how you really feel about it. I also know that you may be okay with it right now, but you might change your mind. That's okay, too. Just—"

"Bones!" The little boy smiled up at her and hugged her again. "I'm good, okay? I talked to dad. He told me the same thing you're saying now. He said that if at any time I don't like how I'm feeling that it was okay as long as I talk to you guys about how I feel. He said that they won't always be easy to live with. He said babies make a lot of noise; especially in the middle of the night and since there would be two of them it would get to be a lot to handle. I understand, Bones."

"Okay," she smiled down at him, knowing that he truly did understand. He was a brilliant boy, and had always demonstrated a more broad understanding of things than other kids his age.

"Where's dad?"

"At the Hoover. He's giving his statement about the things that happened this past week. He'll be home soon. He said he was going to bring home food from the diner for everyone."

Parker leaned further into Brennan. She let him have a piece of fruit from her bowl. "You're okay, right, Bones? I was mad that dad wouldn't take me to see you. He kept saying that you were fine, but they don't allow kids in the rooms where you were."

"They don't and I'm sorry. I'm sure he would have brought you to see me if they did. I'm fine, baby. I just need to take it easy from now on."

"Dad said that I'd have to do more chores now."

"Just a few extra. Nothing too big. I can't get stressed out. It isn't good for me or the babies right now. I'll still be able to do a few things. I'm not on strict bed rest at the moment."

"Do you think you will be?"

"Honestly, in all likelihood, I probably will be. Having twins is much more stressful on the body than just having one baby. We've got to do everything we can to keep them in the womb for as long as we can, Parker. If I get too stressed and go into early labor, their lungs may not be ready yet. If they are not ready yet, they could die."

"Oh. That sounds scary. Dad didn't tell me all of that. He just said that you needed to be careful and rest a lot."

"Am I telling you too much? I don't know how much he wanted you to know and how much he wanted to candy coat. Well, I can't really un-tell you."

"Bones, it's sugar-coat."

"Right."

"And I appreciate that you don't leave things out. I'm almost a man now."

"You're ten. You have quite a ways until you are a man."

"Nuh-uh. I've almost got armpit hair. See!" Parker pulled back the sleeve of his t-shirt and raised his arm.

To humor him, Brennan got closer and inspected. "Nope, don't see any. Oh, wait. Nope. It was just a shadow."

"Bones! I said _almost_."

"Well, you know in some cultures you would be considered a man already."

"That's so cool."

"You would think so, but really all that means is that those kids don't get to enjoy their childhood for as long as you do. They are considered men because they gain responsibilities to their people and families at a much younger age than you will."

"I didn't think of it like that. So, it's like they are forced to grow up before they are ready?"

"Exactly, and your dad does everything he can to keep you from having to grow up too early."

"I understand, but honestly, I don't think that I can grow up any faster than having to go through what I went through with Brent and with the shooting."

"You're right. That was a lot, and sometimes I don't think your dad gives you enough credit. I think you are much tougher than he thinks, but to him you're still his little boy. Sometimes, I still see you as that four year old little boy I met at Wong Fu's."

"I don't really remember that. I wish I did."

"That's okay. You were young, but _I_ remember. Anyways, I don't know if I told you too much about the babies, but if I did and anything bothers you or if you have questions, please ask. We don't want you to be confused or scared."

"Okay. How many weeks are they now?"

"Actually, today marks the twenty-fourth week."

"How long until their lungs are developed?"

"It won't be for at least another ten weeks. Even then, they will still be slightly immature. The air sacs and branches that make up the lungs are already beginning to develop. The longer they stay in the womb, the more developed their lungs will be and they higher chance of survival they will have. So I have to do what I can to keep them in there for as long as possible. The goal is to make it to at least thirty-two weeks. Then, we'll take it one week at a time. Twins are almost always early."

Parker was still leaning into her side, and he put his hands up to her swollen belly to feel the movements of his siblings. "Hey, guys. It's me, Parker. Remember? Uh, probably not. Right, Bones?"

"I don't know. They might recognize your voice. Babies in the uterus do develop voice recognition. So, even though they don't understand, they know that your voice belongs to someone who is around a lot, who talks to them and who cares."

"Awesome. So, little buddies, our mom needs you to stay in there for a lot longer so that you can get big and strong and so that you can breathe…"

Parker kept talking, but Brennan didn't hear much past the point when Parker said, "our mom." He'd never called her "mom" before, and she knew that he was just doing that while talking to the babies, but part of her wished that he would do it again. She wouldn't push for it, but if it did happen again, she would be fine with it. She didn't want to take Rebecca's place in his life, and she knew that she never would. So she knew that if he ever did want to start calling her that, she would want to make sure that Rebecca was okay with it, too. For now, though, she was just going to savor the feeling because she wasn't sure he even realized what he had said.

After a bit, Parker had quit talking and was just sitting there next to his stepmom with his hands on her stomach.

"I'm tired of sitting here." She used her arm that was wrapped around him to squeeze him lightly to alert him that he needed to get up so that she could.

"Already?"

"Yes, I've just spent several days in bed. I want to move around a little bit. Let's find something easy for me to do. Help me up?"

Parker helped her stand.

"Okay. We haven't done the linen closet yet, or your room, or the bathroom, or your closet."

"Let's go with the linen closet. I'll get your dad to do most of the rest."

"Okay. I'll get the box."

Parker and Brennan had been putting blankets, sheets and towels in the large box for a few minutes when Booth arrived home.

"Babe, I'm home!"

Angela waltzed out of the kitchen, "Welcome home, honey!" she teased.

"Funny, Angela. Where's Bones?"

"She's here somewhere." She didn't want to be the one to tell him that his wife was up and doing work, no matter how light the amount of work was.

Booth started through the living room and headed toward his bedroom where he saw Bones and Parker in the hallway stuffing folded linen into the almost full box.

"Bones, what are you doing?"

"Helping."

"Okay, what are you _supposed_ to be doing?"

"Taking it easy, and I am. This isn't hard. Everything is already folded, and all I have to do is take the stuff from the top shelves that Parker can't reach and hand it to him so that he can bend down and put it in the box. It isn't hard. I feel better moving around a little bit after sitting so still in that bed for so long."

Booth walked over behind her and wrapped his arms around her midsection. "Okay, love. Just listen to your body. If you feel tired don't feel bad for going to rest. No one will mind if you just lay there while everyone else works. They understand. And if you start getting a headache you really need to take it easy. Remember that Doctor Matthews said that is a symptom of high blood pressure."

"I know, but I'm fine right now. I'll sit back down after this is finished though."

"Good."

"I might have told Parker too much."

"About…" he led her on, because apparently she planned on leaving it at that.

"The situation with the babies and that if they came too early because I got too stressed they could die."

"No you didn't Bones; I'm fine," Parker spoke up after placing a small stack of towels into the box.

"I'm sure whatever you told him was fine, Bones." He kissed the back of her head in reassurance. "I trust you."

"That's good to know Booth, but aren't you mad that I didn't talk to you first about how much to tell him?"

He thought about it for a moment, "Nope. Look, Bones. If you thought something was important for him to know and it didn't involve telling him that God is a zombie, then it's probably fine."

"Even if it might have scared him a little bit?" She looked back behind her, sure that he would change his mind.

"Even if it was a little scary. He knows he can ask questions or talk about it with us, you told him that, right?"

"Yes."

"Then, stop worrying. You even have the subject of our conversation right here telling you that he's fine."

"The old Booth wouldn't be so sure."

"What do you mean the _old Booth_? I'm still me! I've always trusted your judgment, Bones." He detected the light joking she was trying to engage in to keep from worrying so much.

"Yeah, you have. So it's really okay?"

"For the umpteenth time, yes." He turned her in his arms and gave her a broad smile as he leaned closer.

"That's not a real number, _Booth_," She challenged.

Closer still.

"It's an expression, _Bones_."

Almost touching.

"Are you guys going to make out now? Because if so, I can go help mom in the kitchen."

Parker didn't get a response.

"Okay then, yeah… I'll just… Mom! Do you still need help?"

* * *

**Oh, poor Parker. Haha! Love Brennan and Parker cuteness! **

**When we see them again, they'll be in their new house because the movers will have magically moved everything already and there will be some unpacking and maybe some fun ;) while unpacking. **

**Once again, I'm sorry for the delay, but things should be going much better now. I'll try to at the very least get one update out a week. School is winding down for us, but for me as the music teacher, that means putting together an end of the year program and herding preschoolers or bribing them with stickers and candy to get them to do what I want. Still, I'll try to stick to updating once a week, probably on the weekends.**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**  



	54. Science Makes Life Beautiful

**So, as I started writing the fun they were having during their unpacking adventure, I realized that if she's been told to take it easy or had any restrictions placed on her, then Brennan would not be allowed to have sex because that would get her heart rate up. So I had to do some re-writing once I realized that, and that also means that I'm going against what I said would be present in this chapter just a little. If anyone was looking forward to that, I'm truly sorry. If you need your smut fix, you can check out my smutty one-shots called "Smutty Side Dishes" if you haven't already.**

* * *

The busy weekend passed slowly as everyone helped the family move into their new house. The men all helped get Booth's stuff out of storage while the professional movers took care of the stuff at the apartment. Angela and Cam took Brennan shopping to furnish rooms in the house that they knew would be lacking with their current possessions.

She purchased new chairs and a couch for the family room along with complementary decorative items. She decided that the stuff from their old living room at the apartment would go in her and Booth's work den. It would be just like old times in the den with late night take out on her couch with paperwork spread everywhere, as soon as she came back from maternity leave and worked with Booth again.

They'd also purchased several bedroom sets to fill the rooms that would be guest rooms for now. Brennan wanted to buy stuff for the nursery, but Angela swooped in to stop her, claiming that she was in charge of baby stuff. She would take care of the theme, painting, and everything in between.

Brennan also made a point of making a few practical purchases for Parker's room. Now that he was going to have a larger room, he had more room for things he didn't have room for at his mom's house when he lived with her or from his old room at Booth's apartment. Brennan thought about some of the stuff they had pulled out of storage that had been in Parker's old room. He had grown out of so much of that stuff that she wanted to replace it with something that he would appreciate more as he got older. She purchased him a new bed and frame complete with an oak headboard and an antique looking oak desk, dresser and nightstands and lamps to match. She also found a few pieces of sports memorabilia that she knew he would appreciate. She bought him an area rug and bedding that looked grown up, but would still be interesting to a ten year old. They were all impulsive purchases and she hoped that he would like them. She had made sure to get all of his favorite colors and sports teams. Some of the things she purchased she put away to give him on Christmas. Even though she and Booth had already finished their Christmas shopping, she figured it wouldn't hurt to get Parker something a little bit extra.

She also got some sports memorabilia for Booth's man cave downstairs in the basement that she planned to give him for Christmas. She'd briefly considered a pool table, but threw that idea out rather quickly. She was not going to be responsible for rekindling _that_ itch for Booth.

The only room she didn't get anything for was the master bedroom. She wanted to discuss with Booth whether or not they wanted something new or if they wanted to keep what they had. Either way, she knew that Booth would prefer it if that was something they did together.

She also knew that Booth would balk at the price of her purchases, but they couldn't very well move into this huge house and leave it partially empty. She'd spent well over fifty thousand dollars on furniture and accessories.

They had dipped into her "stash" of money that they'd always kept separate from the equal money they had in their joint account for the large down payment on the house, and since then it had been an unspoken agreement that they would just use what they needed from that "stash" for their moving purposes and then after that, they would go back to their halfsies agreement where she matched every cent from his checks into their joint account for bills and other things.

It was Tuesday afternoon when everything was delivered from the department store. A team of people also arrived to help assemble all of the furniture.

All the rooms came together quite nicely with the fresh neutral tones of paint and warm inviting color palates from the bedding and accessories. The living room was warm and inviting with bright vibrant colors that were interesting without being gaudy and tacky. The furniture was oversized and very plush.

When all the people had taken their leave, Booth arrived home to find his wife standing in their new family room with all of their new furniture. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she stood there with a proud smile gracing her features.

"Wow, Bones. This looks great. You have wonderful taste." He held her from behind with his arms reaching around her growing midsection. He nibbled her ear. "And you taste just as wonderful."

"Booth!" Damn him for teasing her sexual frustration.

"It looks really good, baby."

"Come see the other rooms!" She said excitedly to distract herself from him. She dragged him along through their single story home, glad for the fact that they'd chosen a single story. Stairs would have eventually gotten to be a dreaded aspect of her life with how pregnant she was at just twenty-four weeks. She was also very glad that they wouldn't ever have to worry about raising little children and worrying about the stairs.

They went through the rooms and Booth was struggling to keep up with his excited wife, but he was delighted that this was something that brought her such great joy. When they got to Parker's room, his mouth fell open. He'd had no idea that she planned to do anything for his son's room, but he was certain that Parker would love it and appreciate that it was grown up furniture.

"I'm glad Parker is still with his mom right now." Brennan told Booth as they walked back into the family room, both unable to keep their hands off each other now. She began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Why Mrs. Booth, are you feeling kind of frisky?" Booth asked in a low sexy voice.

"Maybe." She pouted. "I feel like I'm being tortured."

They'd been told that they had to refrain from sexual intercourse for as long as she was on bed rest and in danger of preterm labor. This included oral stimulation because it would get her blood pressure too high.

This left both of them rather frustrated. Sure, he could have accepted oral pleasure from her, but he would have felt selfish and like he was using her. She'd told him that she didn't mind, but he still didn't feel right about it. Still, there were times when the red-blooded American male side of Booth showed his face, and nearly made him cave. He knew it would happen. It was just a matter of when.

"Let's put away the groceries I picked up from the store before they spoil. Then we can spend a little quality time together, necking like a couple of teenagers."

"Actually, I'm going to lay down for a few minutes. I've been up supervising everyone that came into the house today. I've actually exceeded my recommended allowance of being up and about." She laid her tall frame down across the couch and propped her feet up over the arm on the other end with her head on one of the throw pillows.

Booth leaned down to her forehead and bestowed a gentle kiss upon her. "Of course, baby. I'll only be a minute. I wouldn't want your ice cream to melt."

"Ice cream?" She shot off the couch and headed for the kitchen.

"Moderation, Bones! Do not take half the tub this time!"

Booth started putting the items from the counter in their respective places as Brennan scooped some ice cream into a bowl. When he saw how much she had gotten he muttered to himself, "It's a good thing I thought to get the sugar free kind."

"Save some for me and Parker for _after _dinner."

"Seeley Booth, I have been unpacking this house for days and I stood around and watched as strangers traipsed around here assembling things so that we had furniture. I'm tired, horny and moody; if I want to have a mountain of ice cream _before_ dinner, who are you to judge me? You've been known to eat pie all hours of the day! I know I agreed to never bring up the fact that you once ate an entire apple pie from the diner in one sitting by yourself, but now seems the perfect time to do so!" She huffed and turned away from him.

"Jeez, I was just teasing. Come here, Bones." She stood her ground and took a deep breath. "Come here, baby. I didn't mean it like that. You deserve to have whatever you want. You do."

She finally walked over to him and into his waiting arms.

"I hate how quickly everything effects my emotions. I'm sorry. I know you didn't mean it that way." She let him hold her for a few more minutes before she asked timidly, "Would you want to share my ice cream with me?"

One side of Booth's mouth curled up into a smirk. "Sure. I just need to put the meat in the fridge first.

She grabbed an extra spoon as he put the meat away.

They settled on the couch nestled into each other. Brennan held her bowl of ice cream almost possessively, but still allowed Booth to get some.

"Angela is anxious to get started on stuff for the babies' room."

"I'm sure she is. I wonder what she has planned for the walls. You know you pretty much gave her an open canvas, right?"

"Yes. She mentioned she would do some kind of mural on the wall, and this _is _Angela we are talking about. I knew that whatever she decided to do would be too much and over the top, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we told her no or to hold back, even just a little. She's very excited. She would like to know the name of our second child. We have yet to pick another name."

"Right, Joey's brother needs a name. Hmm." Booth thought for a few minutes. "Adrian… Shane… Sean… Noah… Ethan… Nathan… Jacob… Douglas…" Booth tried to think of more, but was cut off before he'd had the chance to speak again.

"Wait, say those last two together."

"Jacob Douglas."

"Yes! That's it! Jacob Douglas is a good name. It goes nicely with Joseph Tyler."

They had chosen Tyler as the middle name for Joseph while they were still waiting from Brennan to be discharged from the hospital. She told him that it just came to her and they both liked it.

"Joseph Tyler Booth. Jacob Douglas Booth. Yep, both are good. And you know, they've both got that _you're in big trouble_ feel when you say the full name. Joseph Tyler Booth! Jacob Douglas Booth!" He bellowed imitating anger.

"Booth! You're making it up like they are going to be trouble makers. You won't have to use that tone of voice with them."

"It's _making it out,_ not _making it up._ And at first they'll be innocent; and then defiance and back talking won't happen intentionally until they are about Parker's age. I'm just glad Parker hasn't been much into making poor choices or being defiant. Although, I'm sure we aren't too far off from that stage in his development. Anyway, back to my original point, _both_ names are sufficiently intimidating when said in full in a stern voice. They won't get in trouble much after the first time they hear it. I can guarantee that."

"I'm pretty sure they just heard you loud and clear, daddy. You feel that?"

She had the bowl resting on the top of her stomach and one of Booth's hands had not left her swell since they'd been seated together on the couch enjoying the ice cream.

"Yeah. That is such a cool feeling every time it happens."

"It's simply amazing that we created life, two of them, and that they are in there moving around and growing." Then Brennan cursed under her breath lightly as tears formed yet again in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Booth sensed her change in mood and took the cursing he'd heard as a sign that something was wrong.

She looked back toward him and kissed his stubbly cheek. "Nothing, babe," she was quick to set him at ease. "I'm just crying, again. It's just all so beautiful. Science makes life beautiful, Booth."

He cuddled her closer still, "When two beautiful people such as ourselves fulfill their biological instinct to further the species, then yes, it is very beautiful."

Brennan laughed through her tears, "Booth?"

"What? Hey, I've picked up some of the lingo around you. I'm not completely stupid. I do understand some things even if I act like I don't."

"I know. It's just that you surprise me sometimes, even when I fully know that you shouldn't."

"The day we stop surprising each other is the day we're in trouble, Bones. And that'll never happen."

"That is a very valid point, but I was referencing the fact that as someone who minored in social sciences, such as yourself, and who observes the daily behaviors and social tendencies in order to have the upper hand in your job, you could very well be considered an anthropologist."

That was not something he'd expected to hear.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, not like me in a forensic capacity, but culturally. Sociology is a branch of Anthropology."

"I've never thought about it like that. How so?"

"Anthropology is broken into four subfields: biological or physical, social or cultural, archeology and linguistics. Since you minored in Sociology and it is something that has application to your job, which you are very good at, you are an anthropologist, too. Albeit, the soft kind and not by title, but still…"

"You know somewhere in there was a compliment, and then you called me soft. Jeez, I feel like Sweets must feel."

"I didn't call _you_ soft. I—All I meant was that you are very good at your job and it's because there is a science to it as well as there is science to mine, obviously. I brought that up after _you_ agreed that science was beautiful."

"Yeah, because of everything it's given us," he said rubbing her stomach, "not because of what we do and you brought science up in the first place, not me. I think you need more sleep, Bones. I'm not sure even you can keep up with your brain right now."

"So are we settled on Joseph Tyler and Jacob Douglas?" She asked, avoiding the idea of sleep at the moment. She was tired, but cherished moments like this where they went back and forth with each other, and she wasn't about to admit that she couldn't keep up with the rapid-fire thoughts constantly going through her head, even if there was some truth to it.

"Yeah, I think so, but remember, the middle names…"

"Are ours. I remember."

"And we've got plenty of time, so if we want to make any changes, nothing is set in stone, yet."

"True, but I don't think that will be necessary."

"Me either, Bones."

The front door opened and Parker and Rebecca walked in.

"Hey, bub! Did you help your mom get some of her stuff moved today?"

Brennan needed to sublet her apartment for a year because a little less than a year prior she had signed a two-year contract. Rebecca had agreed to move in to the apartment in an effort to get away from her old house that she shared with Brent. While she was sad to leave behind some of the good memories there, she knew the change was good for her. And should her abusive ex ever get out of jail, he wouldn't have any idea where to start looking for her.

Parker sighed overdramatically, "Try _all_ of it. Mom has _so_ much stuff! I think my arms are going to fall off from carrying so much." He collapsed into one of the big armchairs, while Rebecca leaned lightly against the arm of it.

The adults all laughed at his theatrics.

"He was very helpful today. He killed a ton of spiders that crawled out from behind things, as we got ready to move them. I'm so glad to be leaving that place. Ever since they tore down that building behind the alley, the entire neighborhood has had problems with rodents and spiders." Rebecca shuddered, just thinking about it made her skin crawl. "My brothers did most of the heavy lifting, but Parker did take quite a few of the lighter boxes." She ran her fingers through his slightly tangled curls. "He needs a shower, very badly." Then she leaned in towards the couple on the couch, pretending to tell them a secret, even though she knew Parker could hear, "He's starting to get stinky like a man."

"Mom!" He whined, embarrassed.

"It's a natural thing Parker. Do you have any idea how much, your dad stinks sometimes?" Brennan asked.

Booth snapped his head quickly toward her with a look of surprise and hurt. "Seriously? I do not stink, Bones!"

"Most of the time, no, but after long stakeouts or especially after chases, you stink."

"What about the lab and the dead bodies, Bones? How can you even say that I stink when even on my worse day I smell like a goddamn cookie factory compared to that?"

She scowled and poked his chest as she scolded, "Language." He had the decency to look chastised. Then she told him honestly, "Since being pregnant, I can honestly say that my heightened sense of smell has made me even more aware of the odor."

"Seeley, she's right. I remember having the same thoughts when we were together."

"Hey this is not about me, this is about Parker starting to get body odor. Can we get back to him?"

"What, why me?" Parker asked. He had been enjoying the back and forth the adults were having. Sometimes living with them was better than going to the movies, until the attention turned to him.

"Parker, all we're trying to say is that as you continue to grow the next couple of years, your body is starting to change and do some of the stuff that our adult bodies do. One of those things is that when you sweat, your body will start to emit an odor; in most instances this odor is unpleasant." She thought for a second and decided not to go into the whole spiel about pheromones just yet. Booth was going to be so proud that she filtered herself. "So bathing and proper hygiene techniques should be utilized, such as using deodorant. It really isn't as big of a deal as your father is making it out to be," Brennan said, noting the pleased looks on Rebecca, and even Booth's faces. "It's normal," she looked pointedly at Booth, who had the decency to blush a little at acting like he was the one about to hit puberty.

"Go shower, Park." Booth told his son.

Once he was gone off toward his room, Rebecca looked apologetically at both of them as she sank into the chair Parker had just vacated. "I am so sorry. I didn't mean for that to turn into—"

"Oh, don't worry. It's fine. We needed to talk to him about that anyway," Brennan said, dismissing this issue. "I left out the part about pheromones." She said with a bright smile.

"Oh, thank God." Booth sighed dramatically and relaxed further into the couch.

"I knew you would be proud."

"I am. You did wonderful, Bones. I couldn't have said it any better myself."

"Probably not." She smiled up at him, knowing that she should have thanked him. His return smile told her that he knew she'd said that on purpose instead.

"You two are so strange. I don't understand you, and I'm not even sure how _you_ understand you."

"We don't either, Bec; We just…"

"We're com_ple_mentary," Brennan finished.

"Something like that. Well, I have a lot to do to unpack, and I know you probably still have a lot of that yourselves, so I'm going to head out. I'm sure we'll talk before then, but in case we don't, what time is Christmas dinner on Saturday?"

"We're shooting for three. We were going to do a noon lunch, but my brother and his family will be driving up from Goldsboro after spending the morning at Amy's parents' house and my dad is expected to drop by as well. So we needed to allow for a bit of travel time."

"Okay, sounds good. Let me know if you need help with anything. Bye."

"We will. Bye," Booth and Brennan chorused.

**B&B**

Later that night, Booth and Brennan were getting ready to get into their bed and call it a night. Brennan looked over to the picture of Parker and her husband on the nightstand on her side of the bed and then she looked next to the frame at a bare spot on the nightstand, and her heart sped up and she felt like she was going to panic.

"Booth! Where are they?"

Hearing the alarm in her voice and feeling the tension in her body as he tried to pull her back into him, he asked, "Where are what?"

"Booth, they're missing!" She pulled from his arms and stood out of bed. She started looking around the nightstand and under the bed before going through boxes that hadn't been completely unpacked. "I have to find them." She kept saying to herself, though Booth could hear each panicked time she uttered the words.

"Bones, what are you looking for?"

"I had them; they were there last night. I know I didn't put them back into a box. Where could they be?" She ran a shaky hand through her long hair. Her face scrunched up and she started to cry.

Booth stood a few minutes ago, watching as she rummaged through boxes. He had no idea what she had been looking for so he didn't bother to help, especially since she didn't seem calm enough to just tell him, but he was starting to get worried that she would work herself up too much.

"Bones, you need to calm down and tell me. What is missing?" He pulled her to himself, tightly and held on as she cried until she told him.

"Brainy Smurf and Jasper," she whispered into his shoulder. "They're missing. They were there last night, I'm sure of it. I remember unpacking them and then looking at them last night before I went to sleep, and then again, when I woke up. They aren't there, Booth." She sobbed into his chest.

He had no idea what to say or do right now.

There was no way he could tell her that they were just toys. They were so much more to her than that. He knew what they meant to her; he'd given them to her, after all.

He couldn't tell her that they would find them, because clearly if they were there and then they weren't and she'd practically just tore their room apart to look for them, he had no idea to even know where to start looking.

And he definitely wasn't going to tell her that he could get her others. They wouldn't be the ones he'd given her then and they wouldn't mean the same thing. He wasn't even sure he'd ever be able to find another pig like Jasper anyway.

So he held her. It was all he knew to do at the moment.

"What if one of the delivery men from the store earlier had taken them, Booth. I'll never get them back."

"Bones, I don't think they would take something like that. If I were going to take anything from someone's house, it would have more monetary value than that, Bones. Besides, you know they weren't even in our room at all."

She thought about his explanation. _See, Booth…anthropologist. _

"No, they weren't. So _where_ are they?" She slapped his bare chest, hard with her palm. He let her get away with it, and then she placed her face back into his chest and breathed him in, silently apologizing for hitting him right where she was now placing a soft kiss.

Booth thought about their day. No one had been over that day other than the delivery people, Rebecca, and Parker. Rebecca had stayed in the living room. Just before lunch, he was getting ready to run some errands and go to the grocery store when Parker had come into their room to ask if he could go help his mom. Booth had been in the bathroom brushing his teeth at the time and Parker had been in their room. It wouldn't be too farfetched to think that his son had seen the figurines and took them to play with, especially if he just saw that they were toys rather than something sentimental. He doubted Parker knew their significance.

Booth walked her over to the bed. "Sit here, Bones. I think I know where they are."

"Where?"

"Parker was in here earlier when I was getting ready to head out and do stuff. Maybe he played with them. I'll be right back."

"Booth, don't wake him up."

"Bones, are you going to be able to sleep until you know for sure?"

"No," she told him honestly.

"Parker is a growing kid, but you are carrying twins, whose sleep do you think is most important right now? He'll go right back to sleep."

He left the room before she could say anything. He really hoped he was right.

He shook his son gently and woke him up with soft words, "Parker, buddy. Can you wake up for a sec?"

"What?" Parker groaned, in a true sleepy grumpy Boothy fashion.

Booth chuckled lightly before asking, "Did you take anything from my room earlier today? They are both very important to Bones, and she misses them."

Parker thought for a moment through his sleepy mind trying to remember. "You mean the Smurf and the pig? Yeah, I played with them today. They are over on my new desk." He gestured in the general direction of the desk.

Booth walked over to the desk and grabbed the two figurines.

"Thanks, buddy. Hey, listen. These aren't toys, okay? They are very important figurines I gave to Bones a few years ago. She was very scared that they were lost when she couldn't find them. So don't take things without asking. If you had asked her she might have let you see them, but you really need to respect that you cannot just take other people's stuff without asking."

"Okay, tell Bones I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make her worry." Then he thought of something that worried him. "Oh no. She didn't get too worried, did she?" He asked. He was freaked out because he knew that Bones wasn't supposed to be worked up. He didn't want to be the cause of something bad happening. "Dad? She's okay right?"

"Yeah, buddy. She's fine. Nothing happened."

"Oh, good. I'm sorry."

"But it's good that you are concerned. I'll tell her you're sorry. Go back to sleep," Booth said as he smooth back his son's hair.

"Night, dad."

"Goodnight, bub."

Booth remained knelt next to his son's bed as he rubbed his hand over his little tummy while he watched Parker fall back to sleep, just like he used to do when Parker was little.

When he was sure Parker was asleep, he walked back to his room with the figurines in hand.

"Bones," he called from the doorway, "look what I found." He held them up, walked over to her nightstand, and put them in their proper place. "He said he was sorry he took them and made you worry. I talked to him about taking things that aren't his without permission. Though, I think that if he knew how important they were to you, he wouldn't have done that."

"I know. I'm sorry; I overreacted."

Booth climbed over her, landed on his side of the bed, and snuggled into her. He nuzzled into the side of her neck as he spoke softly. "It's fine, Bones. We found them and there is nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, Booth. I love you."

"I love you, too, Bones."

* * *

**There, a sweet ending, because we haven't had one in a while. :)**

******XOXO,  
CrayonClown**  



	55. Christmas Joy

**Sorry for the delay. This one is a monster of a chapter and I didn't want to split it for several reasons that I won't get into right now. Just enjoy.**

**A challenge was issued by ecemommy on twitter to use the word "hoecakes" in a chapter of Jelly Bean after I had posted that I used all of my tiles in Words With Friends to make the word in a game, and I didn't know that it was a real word until it accepted it. She challenged me to find a way to fit it into a chapter, and I did. So hopefully, that section is amusing. And thanks for offering to send a search party after noticing that it took me three hours to proof this. :)  
**

**Before we get onto the main event. Let's all just take a moment to SQUEEEEE! over the finale!**

**_(HAPPY DANCING ALL AROUND!) SQUEEEEEEEE SQUEEEE SQUEE GAH!_  
**

* * *

Booth and Brennan had spent their week trying to get everything ready for their Christmas dinner. Well, Booth did most of the work with help from various people during the week as well as the occasional slip from Brennan where she would completely disregard the fact that she was supposed to be taking it easy, especially since they both knew she would over do it on Christmas.

The morning of Christmas Eve, she decided that the placing of the Christmas tree was all wrong. She wanted to move it. Booth was out at the grocery store with Parker making absolute sure they had everything they would need for dinner on Christmas day. Angela was with her making sure they had all of the recipes together in one place so they wouldn't be hunting for them the next day. Angela was going to do most of the cooking.

They were both seated criss-cross-applesauce on big floor pillows at the coffee table when Brennan stood and walked back over toward one of the corners of the room to take in the entire view.

"This whole room is all _wrong_, Angela."

Angela was still seated on the floor at the coffee table, "What do you mean? This living room is _gorgeous_, Bren."

"Yes, but…" she trailed off feeling silly. "It's just… the arrangement is wrong. The tree should not go where it's at. It needs to be in the corner where my reading chair is. And that would need to move over here, but that wouldn't work, spatially because of the ottoman, unless we moved the couch and coffee table to the _other_ wall… which would then force the TV and other stuff to the wall where the couch is."

There was a long silence following that. Angela had never seen her friend be so intuitive about something as trivial, in Brennan's mind at least, as the visual aesthetics and comfort added by simple furniture placement.

After a few moments, Brennan's impatience started showing through, "Come on, get up and help me."

"What?" Angela nearly choked on her gasped breath. "Now? You should wait until Booth is here to help. You can't be moving couches!"

"Then call Hodgins and get him over here. We can get some of the light stuff moved by time he gets here to help with the big stuff. You guys just live three streets over. It won't take him long to get here to help."

"Sweetie, as cute as it is that you seem to have now officially entered the nesting phase of pregnancy, I need you to understand that there is no way that…"

"I'm not _nesting_. This room just feels wrong. Can we change it, please? While I have this burst of energy would be good and before Seeley comes home and talks me out of it. _Please_?"

"Okay, fine, but I'm calling Wendell too. The men can move the big stuff. You and I will handle the small stuff. The _small_ stuff _only_, Bren. I mean it." She looked at her friend with a smiling but firm face that meant business.

"Okay."

Brennan walked over and started to move their floor pillows to the hallway and then rolled up the area rug as Angela made the two phone calls. Together, she and Angela moved the coffee table to a neutral place to keep it out of the way. The next item to move was the reading chair and accompanying lamp. Once those were out of the way, they were unplugging the lights for the Christmas tree preparing to move it when Hodgins showed up ready to help.

Angela had told him to hurry or Brennan would just do everything herself. He had taken her seriously, as he knew how impatient a determined Temperance Booth could be; make that a pregnant and determined Temperance Booth who's supposed to be taking it easy, and there was just no telling what she would attempt by herself.

Brennan and Angela gently walked the tree over to the corner, making sure to not knock anything off of the branches. Angela plugged it in to turn the lights on, and they both stood back, pleased with the new placement.

"Much better," Brennan said on a sigh.

"Yes, it is," Angela agreed.

There was another knock on the front door. Wendell had been told to not dilly-dally either, apparently.

"Okay, what can I do to help?" He asked as the door was opened to him.

"I've decided that I wanted to move a few things around, but Angela insisted on calling for help. Admittedly, I can see where the two of us would have had problems moving the entertainment center." Everyone stared pointedly at her, "…and I'm not supposed to do anything heavy like this anyway."

"Okay, Doctor B., just go over and sit in your reading chair and we'll take care of the rest. Just tell us where you want everything."

Not used to taking orders that way, especially from one of her students, she stared at Wendell with raised eyebrows. The look had the desired effect. His stance waivered the slightest bit and he opened his mouth trying to come up with words to amend his statement, but finding none he shut his mouth again. Seeing this, Brennan softened. He was just trying to help as he'd been called over to do. She gave a warm smile and a nod to him before walking over to her chair and sitting down.

She pointed over to the couch with one hand and the TV and entertainment center with the other. She made a gesture where her arms switched position and crossed over each other, "Just switch these walls. The couch goes over there and the TV goes opposite of where it is now. Then the coffee table goes back in front of this couch, and then the chair goes where the Christmas tree originally was. Then we put the area rug back, and then everything should be good to go."

"Alright, let's get started," Hodgins said with a clap of his hands.

Just as they were moving the entertainment center to the side and turning it around so that they could move the couch past it, Booth and Parker entered the living room from the foyer, staring on as Brennan sat in a chair while others did the work.

"What's going on here?" Booth asked. "I thought we had everything set up already, Bones."

"She's just nesting, Booth. She's a pregnant woman and she just decided that she wasn't happy with where everything was."

"She was happy with it when she instructed the guys to set it up this way." Booth said, talking more to Brennan than anyone else.

"Well, I changed my mind, Booth."

Angela was standing close to Booth. She leaned in and tried to whisper, "She's been a little touchy since you've left for the store. She even called you Seeley in from of me."

"I did not," Brennan chimed in from her chair.

"Yes, you did. You said we needed to get all of this done before Seeley comes home. That is what you said."

"I—" She blushed heavily. She did say that, she realized.

"Sweetie, it's okay. He's your husband. You can call him by his first name around us."

"I know. It's just that I usually don't. Sometimes I do, but it's when we're… alone. Although, it seems that I've called him Seeley more just in the few days we've stayed in this house."

"It's true, she has." Booth said shifting the heavy bags in his hands. "I'm just going to… go put these away."

Parker had already headed into the kitchen with his bags. They heard a something drop on the floor in the kitchen.

Brennan raised her brow and then stood. "I'll come help put things away."

"No, Bones. Parker and I can handle it. That sound was just a can dropping. I bet everything is fine, maybe a little dented, but fine. You just sit back down and keep taking it easy. If I know you, and I really do, I know you haven't been sitting there the whole time. I'll bet that you helped move a few things, right?"

"If the can is dented then it needs to be thrown away. When cans are dented the seals on the inside of the can protecting the metal are compromised and can release toxins into the food. And, you shouldn't bet, Booth."

Booth was horrified at the fact about dented cans that she'd just given him and made a mental note to do as she said. _Jesus! How much food from dented cans have I eaten?_

"Ah, then you aren't denying it; are you?"

"That would be a lie, and you know I value the truth."

Booth smiled warmly at her as she sat back down and he walked toward the kitchen. "I know."

**B&B**

Christmas morning, Booth and Brennan were exhausted and were trying to sleep in. They had all gone to the Midnight Mass and then after that was over, Booth had spent a great deal of time trying to assemble Parker's new bicycle. He'd had one when he was younger and lived with his mom, but he'd long ago outgrown it. It was time for a nice grown up bike that he could ride around the property and neighborhood.

He also helped Brennan wrap the gifts. She'd told him that they shouldn't have waited until the last minute, but he said that _that_ was part of the fun of being a parent and that even if Parker no longer believed in Santa, waiting until Christmas Eve to deal with presents still made him feel like Santa. He liked the feeling of giving his son a memorable morning. That was what was important.

They were trying to sleep in and get a little more sleep when the doorbell rang. They groaned in annoyance at the interruption of slumber. They both figured they would have been woken by Parker already, but they sure as hell were not ready for company yet.

Angela.

It had to be. She said she would come over and make breakfast for them as they got started on preparing the Christmas dinner.

Brennan got up out of bed and put on her new deep purple satin robe that Booth had given her since her other one didn't close anymore. She pulled it tight around her and tied the tie as she slipped on her warm fuzzy slippers. "Booth, get up and get dressed," she called over her shoulder as she walked to exit their bedroom.

"What about you? Are you _seriously_ going to answer the door like _that_?"

She poked her head back in the room. "Seeley, I do not yet feel like wearing clothes. Angela has seen me naked, which I'm currently not; I doubt she'll mind that I'm trying to be comfortable until everyone gets here."

"What if Hodgins is with her?"

"So what if he is? We were buried in a car together for over twenty-four hours. We both experienced more embarrassing moments during that time than him seeing me in my robe. Now, I'm going to go let our friends in out of the cold. Get dressed."

"Yes, boss." He got up and walked into the bathroom, peed and brushed his teeth before walking over to the dresser on his side of the room and grabbing some flashy bright green boxers with reindeer on them and a white wife beater. He pulled on his light robe for a little bit of warmth and didn't bother to tie it around him.

If she was going to be comfortable for a while, so was he. He smiled as he exited his room, knowing what kind of reaction his appearance would pull from the often openly appreciative glance of Angela Montenegro.

He went into Parker's room to wake him up for breakfast. He knew that even though it wasn't ready yet, it would take Parker a minute to wake up fully enough to act like a human being. He was definitely a Booth in that way. Booth was actually surprised that his son was still asleep, but figured that maybe the new environment of his new room helped with the sleep. His room was on the west side of the house and didn't pick up as much of the morning sunlight as his other room had. Booth watched his son's peaceful sleeping form for a few minutes before disturbing him.

Once he'd managed to get Parker awake, Booth went into the kitchen to investigate the wonderful smell he'd detected upon leaving Parker's room.

He looked over at a plate with a stack of food piled up on it.

"Oh, goody, pancakes!" He said. "I love pancakes."

"I know; Bren told me how much you _love_ pancakes."

Angela was turned around over at the stove pouring batter onto the griddle. Her tone of voice was saucy and he knew immediately that she wasn't just talking about liking to consume the pancakes. She was likely referring to the very rousing round of sticky syrupy pancake sex they'd had all over the kitchen a few months ago.

"And," Angela continued, "_These_ aren't pancakes."

"The hell you say! Batter, griddle, little flat round cakes stacked on a plate, syrup on the table. That equals pancakes."

"Normally yes, but these are not pancakes."

"They're hoecakes, Seeley." Brennan spoke up from her spot at the table before taking a sip of her freshly squeezed orange juice.

"They're whatcakes?" He squeaked.

Laughing to herself at his typical Yankee reaction to the name of her southern breakfast treat, Angela finally turned around to face him. She stopped short in her response with her mouth wide open as she very much stared appreciatively at him in his boxers and wife beater showing through his robe that he'd left untied and therefore revealed more of his body than she was used to seeing on a daily basis.

Brennan had seen Booth enter the kitchen, but she didn't want to draw more attention to what he was wearing, or not wearing; she wanted to keep his body for herself only. Now she realized why he had wanted her to put on more clothes. Not so much that she would be uncomfortable, but so that he didn't have to watch someone eye her body because it was _his_, no matter what kind of position she may have been in with the other people before. She was slightly pissed that he chose to make his point in this manner, but she chose to let it go for now.

Sort of.

"Angela, your hoecakes are going to burn while you gawk at my husband."

There were just some things she wouldn't just stand by and watch.

"What? Oh!" She turned around and flipped them over quickly. She realized that they weren't going to burn. Brennan was just indirectly stating her disapproval of her open admiration of Booth's body.

"What the hell is hoecake?" Booth asked again turning to Jack, hoping that he would give him a straight answer.

"Don't look at me. This is the first time I've heard of them, too."

Angela plated the hoecakes from the griddle and poured the last of the batter on to cook. Then she turned around again to explain.

"Hoecakes are like pancakes but they are made with a cornmeal batter. That's all."

"Okay, so these are just little… cornbread pancakes?" Booth asked.

She nodded, "Simply put, yes," and then turned around so that she wouldn't get caught staring at Booth again.

"Why are they called hoecakes?" Hodgins asked.

"I can answer that," Brennan said triumphantly. "I remember going on a vacation with my parents and Russ to New Orleans when I was little and we stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall place for breakfast one day. We were served hoecakes. I remember that I didn't know what they were, and I asked my dad, rather loudly, if hoes made those cakes like cows made pies because if they did, then there was no way I was going to eat them. The owner of the restaurant heard my question and explained what they were and that back in the days when people tended to most fields by hand, the field hands would use the blade of a garden hoe or a shovel as a griddle and they would cook the hoecakes over an open fire."

"Good morning," Parker mumbled on his way into the kitchen.

Everyone returned his greeting as he sat on the bench next to Hodgins.

"What's for breakfast?" He asked.

"Cornbread pancakes." Booth replied when the other three replied, "hoecakes."

"Huh?" Parker asked looking around.

"_Cornbread pancakes_," Booth said again, emphasizing his words.

"You're being ridiculous, you know that right?" Brennan asked him. "Hoecake is not a bad word. It's just indicative of how they used to be prepared."

"What do they taste like?" Parker asked, ignoring his dad's little melt down.

"A lot like cornbread; have you ever had cornbread?" He nodded. "Just put a little bit of butter and some syrup on it and eat it like a pancake," Angela replied.

"Oh, okay. Are they done?"

"Yep, just let me bring the plate over here." She set the stacked plate on the countertop. "Dig in. There's also some bacon and eggs for anyone who wants them. It's in the oven staying warm."

Booth walked over and took those plates out of the oven and set them on the counter next to the hoecakes.

He walked over to Angela and gave her an appreciative charm smile, "Thanks for taking the pressure off of Bones today and making breakfast for us." He hugged her and kissed her cheek.

"Seeley, go get dressed. Now. Rebecca should be here soon anyway." Brennan commanded. Now she knew she was the one being ridiculous. There was nothing (and never would be anything) going on between her husband and best friend, but damn it, he needed to stop making her jealous. He dressed that way on purpose to drive his point home; she knew that. She softened her tone, "Come with me. We'll both get dressed for company." She took his hand and led him out of the kitchen.

"Oh, thank God," Jack said under his breath as they left. He had a hard time looking Brennan in the face while she was in the robe, and while he and Angela had a "you can look, but don't touch" policy, it was uncomfortable for him to be in the presence of Booth in _his_ house to exercise that policy, not to mention that she was his friend and it was a little awkward. He remembered having a thing for her when she'd first started working at the Jeffersonian, but he'd long been over that inclination.

"So, why was my dad so red in the face over the hoecakes?" Parker asked, breaking the silence that followed the partners' departure from the room.

**B&B**

Rebecca showed up not too long after and she had breakfast with them as well. She, too, had never heard of hoecakes, but despite the majority of them not knowing what they were, they were a bit hit. The bacon and eggs were barely touched, as the only one who had some of everything was Brennan.

After breakfast, they all gathered in the living room to exchange gifts. Rebecca had kicked off the event by handing a manila envelope to Booth and Brennan. Brennan pulled the papers out gasped and then showed them to her husband.

It was the finalizing paperwork naming Brennan as one of Parker's guardians. It had finally gone through and it was official.

Most of the gifts were to Parker. He opened several and then the adults would each get one before Parker would open several more.

Brennan's purchases at the furniture store the week prior had been a huge hit. Both father and son had a huge appreciation for their matching sports memorabilia.

Brennan handed another box to Booth.

He tore the paper off and opened the box. He looked confused as he pulled out what appeared to be a ream of paper with a blank page on top, until he noticed that it wasn't completely blank. In the center in a small font face type was, "You are the real Andy."

"I knew it!" Booth said with a huge smile. "You are the real Andy," he read out loud. "Bones, is this the manuscript for your next book? I thought—" He asked as he flipped through the pages.

"Yes, and as you know, it has been rejected by my publisher." She received sympathetic looks from those in the room who didn't know. "Since we've been together my publisher has noticed that there is actually less intimacy between Kathy and Andy. They are telling me that this won't sell. I fear that our personal relationship has kept me from writing things that are too personal between them because I want that aspect of our lives to be ours. I would like it if you would read the manuscript and help me know what I can write and what should be left private."

"Are you sure, because you've never let me—"

"I'm sure."

"Wow, Bones. This means a lot." He pulled her further into his side and kissed the side of her head. "Thanks, baby."

"Bren, I have one for the both of you. I know you've left your room kind of open and the walls are a little more bare than the rest of your house," she said as she walked into the foyer to get their gift for them. She faced it toward her as she walked back in the room. "This is something that I've been working on for a while. Sorry, it's a little big to wrap."

Once she was on the other side of the couch facing them she turned it around to face everyone, revealing a painting of Booth and Brennan dancing, barefooted, on the beach in semi-formal wear. It was from the night that they'd had dinner served to them on the beach during their honeymoon on their private island getaway on Frégate in the Seychelles. Booth was holding Brennan close as they danced in the dimming light accented by candles that were lit around the sand of the beach. He was wearing a pressed white dress shirt and nice light brown slacks. Brennan's baby bump was clearly perceptible and accentuated by the flow of her dress. Brennan was wearing a sheer white flowing dress that was caught in the wind as the sunlight from the sunset shined through. Her wavy brown hair was also flowing in the wind. The painting was breathtaking.

"Oh, Angela!" Brennan gasped. "It's beautiful! How did you…"

"Booth gave me copies of a few photos from your honey moon and asked if I could do anything with them, and this is what I came up with. He said it was your favorite picture of the two of you from your honey moon."

"Yes. It's… I don't know what to say. I could thank you, as that would be the societal norm for receiving such a gift, but that just doesn't seem like it would be enough."

"It really is more than I could have ever dreamed you could do with the picture, Angela. Thank you, so much." Booth told the artist. "It's stunning. And you're right; there is a spot in our room that would be perfect for the painting."

Booth stood from the plush couch and the warmth of Brennan's side and walked over to the artist. He dipped her backwards and planted a kiss right on her lips.

"Hey," Hodgins called, laughingly, "husband! Right here!" He said pointing to himself.

Booth helped a giggling Angela stand back fully upright and noticed a deep flush in her face.

"Bones is always telling me how often you ask her what kissing me on the lips is like; now you know. Merry Christmas, Angela!" He pulled her into a hug, and whispered into her ear. "The painting is more than I ever could have hoped for. Thank you so much."

"What are good friends for?" Angela asked pulling out of Booth's hug.

"Apparently, getting my husband to kiss the nightlights out of his wife's best friend." Brennan said seriously and in a slightly pouting tone. "Seeley, you better not have given her the tongue."

"Sweetie, he didn't and he certainly didn't have to. _That_ was enough. Can I just say, _wow_! No wonder you want to keep that secret all to yourself." Angela said in full-on theatrics and fanning her face.

Parker who had been making gagging noises at the adults ran to the door when the doorbell sounded. He opened the door to let in Jared, Padme and Pops.

Parker had been told that they weren't going to be coming this year.

Parker was about to excitedly jump up into Jared's arms when Jared held a hand up to his mouth indicating for him to be quiet. Parker nodded his head and stepped aside to let them in the door.

Booth heard his brother yell out into the house from the foyer, "Jesus Christ, Seel, could this place be any more ritzy? I've never had to enter a code to even get in a driveway before."

"Jar-head? Who even invited you? I thought you were spending Christmas with Pops."

Parker looked around, for the first time noticing his great-grandfather standing behind Jared.

"Pops!" Parker called out upon seeing the older Booth.

Booth looked down to Brennan who was still seated on the couch. "Did you know they were going to be here?"

Brennan shook her head. "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to go see them?"

Booth held his hand out to help her up. "Come on, Bones. I know you'll be one of the first people Pops will want to see."

"You guys go greet your family. I need to check on the food." Angela said. "Come on Jack."

By the time Booth had Brennan up off of the couch, the three guests had entered the room with a bouncing Parker.

"Good to see you, Temperance. Moving slower than I am, I see."

"Only when I have to get up and down, Hank. Otherwise, I'm still quite ambulatory, and will continue to be as long as they don't put me on strict bed rest."

"Against medical advice," Booth muttered under his breath.

"Well, ambulate over here and give an old fella some love. You, too, Shrimp."

After many hugs and kisses (and teasing among the brothers) from the new arrivals, everyone took their seats in the living room. Angela and Jack returned from the kitchen and took seats on the floor next to Parker who was once again waiting patiently to finish opening some of his presents while Rebecca held her camera ready to document all of the festivities as she already had been.

The adults all watched with joy as the boy tore into box after box. Booth and Brennan knew they went overboard with gifts for their son, but after the year he'd had, they wouldn't have had it any other way. Rebecca had been just as bad. When she had arrived earlier in the morning, it had taken several trips out to her car to bring in the gifts she had bought for her son and Booth and Brennan.

On top of the legal papers naming Brennan as a legal guardian, she'd given them several photo albums full of copies of pictures as well as a few videos of Parker from over the years. Many of the albums contained documentation of many of the milestones that Booth had been absent from. He'd gotten fairly choked up when looking through the albums. Aside from Parker, himself, this was by far one of the best gifts Rebecca had ever given him. Booth had several pictures, but he was unable to get that picture of his baby boy as he made a scrunched up face when he first tried baby foods such as peas. He didn't have that picture of Parker's first tooth breaking through his gums. He didn't have many pictures or videos of his son as he ran stark naked through the house avoiding getting a diaper put on. No, back then, Rebecca hadn't even let Booth have every other weekend until Parker had turned three. Rebecca's gifts to them today had meant every bit as much as Angela's painting.

After the gifts had been opened Angela, Rebecca, Padme and Brennan went back into the kitchen to make sure that everything was ready. They were still waiting on the ham in the oven as well as the sweet potatoes and several other dishes that needed to use the oven after the ham was done.

They were also still waiting for a few guests to arrive. Sweets and Daisy had decided to honor their idea to not celebrate Christmas in a traditional sense this year. They had actually decided to spend the week in Cancun for a little "let's-hump-like-bunnies fun-in-the-sun getaway". Cam and Michelle were also going to be absent as Cam decided to take Michelle up to New York to visit her family this year. Wendell had been the only squintern that was invited to the dinner, as he was technically Booth's current partner, but after he helped out with moving furniture the day before, he went home to his family instead. So, they were just waiting on Max and his girlfriend, Susie, and Russ' family.

They were all traveling in from North Carolina and the reports were that the roads were decent, even after the recent snowstorm, but there were places that were a little worse than others. Max had called as soon as they started to hit the outskirts of the District, so they were expected to arrive anytime now.

Brennan was a little nervous about meeting her father's new girlfriend. Questions kept spinning through her mind as she sat on the bench watching everyone work around her on last minute food preparations.

_What if we dislike each other?_

_What if I like her?_

_Would that make me disloyal to my mother's memory?_

_What if dad expects me to treat her as a mother figure?_

_What if she breaks his heart?_

_God, Temperance, you're thirty-five years old. It's time to move past the mommy issues! This woman is not going to replace your mother. You're father is a grown man and can navigate his own life._

Booth came in to see if he could scavenge a few pieces of food from the dishes sitting on the island when he saw his wife deep in thought. She didn't even make any indication that she'd just sensed his presence in the room as she normally did, not even when he came to stand right next to her and placed an arm around her waist while she sat on the stool at the tall counter space to the right of the island.

"Are you okay? You aren't getting a headache, are you?"

Angela looked over with concern at hearing his question. She'd been keeping an eye on Brennan and making sure she did minimal work. She'd also noticed as this mood that seemed to sweep across her over the past ten minutes as well.

"Bones?"

Brennan shut her eyes and took a deep breath before looking into Booth's warm eyes.

"Talk to me, love. That's what I'm here for."

"You mean you exist for something other than for the purpose of impregnating me?" She tried to joke, but it fell flat as the receiver of the joke frowned.

"Stop stalling. The sooner you tell me, the sooner I can help you feel better about whatever it is you're thinking."

"Right now, there's only one thing that will relax me enough to feel better, but that isn't an option with my situation and a house full of guests."

Angela nearly choked on the marshmallow she just plucked from the dish of sweet potatoes that were waiting to go into the oven the second the ham came out. _Do they realize how loud they are talking? Damn they're adorable, even when… no, _especially_ when something is bothering one of them._

Booth brought his big strong hands up to her shoulders and started kneading at the tense flesh. He decided that hearing Brennan's moans from the tension relief she felt was going to kill him. The stool she was sitting on was high enough that he only had to bend down a little bit to bring his mouth to the back of her neck he'd just exposed by moving her long hair to the side. He trailed his mouth to right behind her ear and moved to where he could talk into her ear.

"Talk to me, baby."

There were a few moments of silence as she seemed to be trying to figure out what to say before she finally just blurted, "My dad has a girlfriend."

"She doesn't have any idea what she's gotten herself into. Does she?" He tried to keep the tone light. He knew that she was wary about her father having possibly found love again. He knew that it bothered her that her mother was no longer the only woman for Max Keenan. "Bones, you know, just because Max has decided to move on in his life, it doesn't have to mean that he stopped loving your mother."

"I…How—"

"Bones, Bones, Bones. I'm your husband. I _know_ you. I see that this bothers you a little bit. You've struggled to believe that love could last forever, it was not a stretch for me to guess that you would think that your dad has fallen out of love with your mom, but I know that can't be true. Max is… Max is a lot of things, but genuine and loyal are among his better qualities. He's loved you mom even after all of these years following her death. There isn't anything in this world that can bring a love like that, like he had for your mother, to a sudden halt."

Brennan nodded, staying silent. She was a little unnerved by the fact that he'd brought this up while there were so many around them in the kitchen, but after noticing that the only real attention they had from anyone was from Angela, who she had already sort of mentioned this to earlier that morning.

"I just don't know what to expect. I thought that I was fine with him moving on, but now that I'm actually going to _meet_ her; it's just more real. I don't know."

"Okay. You know I'm here for you. Just keep talking to me and I'll help you through it, and if at any point you feel overwhelmed, just excuse yourself and go lay down to rest, which is what you should be doing anyway. No one will blame you. You have a legitimate medical reason for doing so."

Just as he finished talking the doorbell rang, and Parker yelled as he ran to the door, "I'LL GET IT!"

"I'll just go lay down now," Brennan said.

"Bones." His tone was stern and unwavering. "Go meet her. You won't ever know what to expect about new situations like this, but if you don't make the effort you will make yourself more miserable thinking about it. Go."

She got off of the stool and he gave her a swat on her ass as she started to walk ahead of him toward the living room.

Booth caught Angela's eye, the shine in them telling him she'd caught the ass slap. He winked at her as he exited the kitchen and she fanned herself dramatically.

Booth caught up to his Bones and tucked his hand into hers for support.

Max was already in the living room sitting on the couch with Parker sat next to him and a woman, about Max's age with brown hair and the slightest bit of graying in her hair, sitting close on his other side.

"Tempe, come in here. There's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Hi, dad."

"Tempe, this is Susan. Susan this is my youngest, Temperance."

"It's nice to meet you," Brennan said with a shining smile.

She seemed like a nice woman upon first impression, and her dad really did look the happiest he had in a long time. Maybe this was good for him.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Max talks about you all the time. Russ, too. This is a lovely home you guys have here."

"Thank you," Brennan replied, "we actually just moved in here. We're very excited to start our life here."

"Would you mind giving us a little tour, Tempe?" Max asked. "This place looks huge. I don't want to get lost when I'm looking for the bathroom later."

"Dad, where's Russ? Shouldn't they have been here by now," Brennan asked as they were completing the tour.

"Baby girl, they had to come farther than we did, and I'm sure that they had to make a few more stops than we did considering they have two little girls that will be needed to potty frequently, not to mention so that Amy can feed Luke. They'll be here before you know it."

"I find myself anxious for them to get here. I really look forward to holding Luke again." Brennan was already getting that warm feeling in her whole body, just in anticipation of holding her baby nephew.

They came out of the hallway leading to the bedrooms just as the doorbell rang.

"Ah, see. That's gotta be them."

Brennan moved gracefully the couple of steps into the foyer from where they were standing to open the door.

"Russ!" She said stepping aside to let everyone in. "You're finally here."

She hugged him and kissed his cheek. When she pulled back, she had two little girls wrapped around her midsection.

"Aunt Tempe!" The two excited girls chorused upon latching onto her.

"Hey girls! Such good hugs."

"Girls! Careful; don't knock her over." Amy said, getting onto them.

They both pulled back and apologized before running off to find Parker.

Once they had come in and gotten settled into the living room with everyone, Booth came in from the kitchen and noticed that Brennan was standing near the entertainment center holding baby Luke.

"Hey, Lucas. Uncle Seeley's here," he said as he indicated that he wanted to hold him.

"No, get your own." She said in a baby voice to him. "Tell Uncle Seeley that he has to wait his turn," she said to Luke. "Yes, he does. Yes."

"My own are still baking." Booth muttered, but wasn't at all irritated. He thought she was being absolutely adorable as a baby hog. He couldn't help but picturing each of them holding their own children in a few months.

She continued to rock him. Booth looked around at the kids playing games on the floor, blocking Brennan's reading chair, Pops, Jared and Hodgins on the couch, Max and Susie on the loveseat.

"Bones, let's find you a place to sit." Booth said as he guided her over towards everyone else as she still rocked Luke.

"I'm fine; They all need somewhere to sit, too." She gestured towards the others. "Besides, I find that I'm rather content to stand at the moment."

"No, Jared can sit on the floor. Jar-head!" Booth said in a commanding voice. "Get your ah—butt off the couch and let my wife sit down for a bit."

"Booth! I'm fine!"

"No, you've been up _all day_. I know you've far exceeded the amount of time you should be up and about. Humor me and sit. _Please_?"

She nodded.

Jared vacated his spot on the couch and Brennan took her seat between Pops and Hodgins. She kept the baby tucked in her arms, rocking gently as he started to fuss over the movement.

"This suits you well, Temperance," Pops told her. "You're a natural."

Brennan looked down at the baby in her arms and blushed slightly at the comment. She chanced a glance over to Jack on her other side when he ran his fingers over the baby's downy soft hair.

"He's right. You are going to be a great mother. Parker adores you and this little nephew of yours is completely smitten with your gentle touch."

If possible, she blushed even more deeply than she had been. Then the tears came.

She laughed a little bit at herself. "Will you people stop making me cry?" She wiped her hands hastily at her tears and refocused her attention on the baby.

Booth took a moment to glance around the room at his family. How had he gotten to be such a lucky man that he was able to call every single person in his home family? He took some time to reflect on that before thinking about those who weren't there with them such as Cam and her daughter and even Sweets, and God help him, Daisy. He thought about the squinterns and their predecessor, Zach. Given recent events, the Booths had not been to visit him in the past few weeks. Others had been to visit him and had assured Brennan that Zach was doing well. As he thought about his unconventional family, his thoughts drifted to his past. His own family life hadn't always been the shiny happy family image. In fact, it had very dark moments, but even in those dark moments, there had been a lot of good. His father had not always been a drunk, and there were always those few weeks at a time where he would be sober before finding more reasons to fall back into the drink.

He found that he needed to take a little walk. It was far too cold outside for a walk, so he walked to his garage and started tinkering with a few things on his car. After a few minutes of isolation with his thoughts, he walked back into the house through the kitchen entrance to the garage. He took a large spoon from the drawer and dipped it into the dish of mashed potatoes while Angela had her back turned. Brennan told Angela to make a small batch of plain mashed potatoes for Booth since he didn't like sweet potatoes. As Booth enjoyed the spoonful of spuds, he was truly touched because he knew they had been made with him specifically in mind.

"Booth!" Angela said in a scolding tone without having turned around to see him there.

_Shit, I must have moaned out loud._

"Don't you dare dip that spoon back into that dish!"

"I wasn't going to. Is everything done?"

"Yep. I was just making sure the dinner rolls were warm. Do you want to start helping me and Rebecca put things on the table?"

"Oh yeah. Now, where's that ham?" He asked, rubbing his hands together.

**B&B**

After every one had stuffed their faces a few of them decided that brief naps were in order and had taken up residence in the guest rooms for the time being.

The kids continued to play games on the floor in the living room and Brennan was, once again, hogging the baby. A few of the men had gone out to the garage with Booth so that he could show off his new workspace with his car and man toys. This left the kids, Brennan and Susie alone in the living room.

Brennan was content with the silence between the two, but she sensed that Susie wanted to converse with her. Brennan looked over with a warm smile towards the older woman, to show her that if she had something to say, then it would be welcome conversation.

Max had told Susie from the very beginning that his daughter was one of a kind and had a way of lacking tact and sometimes had the social grace of an anglerfish. Susie was a little intimidated of his daughter before ever meeting her. She knew who Temperance Brennan, the famous author, was. She wondered if there was a difference between that personality and the personality of Temperance Booth. Susie had been seeing Max for a few months, and he'd wanted her to come to DC with him to meet his daughter, but she'd always find reasons to stall the inevitable meeting. Being Christmas, she really didn't have a valid excuse anymore, and now that she'd met the beautiful young woman, she was very glad she had come along with Max.

"You're very different from what I imagined."

Brennan surprised Susie by seemingly reading her exact thoughts and speaking first.

"You are, too. You're slightly different from everything I've seen about you as an author."

"Publicists like to put a spin on things where there isn't one or place emphasis on things that have little to no importance at all."

"Your father had described you to me and I find myself wondering if he even knows you at all."

"Probably not as well as he thinks he does. He was absent from my life for quite a while. I can see where his perception of me may be… off."

Well _that_ was more in lines with what she'd heard from Max. She chose not to say anything further about what she had expected and instead listened to Brennan as she continued.

"You seem to really enjoy my father's company, and you make him happy, too. I can see that."

"You're father is a wonderfully romantic man," Susie said with a dreamy smile.

"Yes. I remember some of the gestures he would make towards my mother. She was not the romantic type, but I can still see her face light up in my mind as he would say or do something for her that she hadn't been expecting."

"It's sounds like he is very much the same as he was back then."

"What are your long term goals in your relationship with my dad?" Brennan asked suddenly.

_Anglerfish_.

"Well, we've been pretty serious for a few months now, but we've been friends for a few years. I think we're both looking to settle back down. I'm a widow. My husband was in a car accident several years back. I think the fact that we've both lost a spouse has created a bond between us that's pretty strong. We're both tired of being lonely."

"You make him very happy," Brennan repeated her previous statement. "I find that I also approve of you more than I thought I would. I was picturing some horrible stepmother from one of those Disney movies my friend Angela has been forcing me to watch lately. And I would like to apologize to you."

"Apologize? What for, Temperance?"

"Well, thoughts had crossed my mind that you would be trying to replace my mother in his life and in my life; I feel ridiculous even saying this because I'm thirty-five and far past the point in my life where this should affect me, and I can see that's not the case at all. My dad deserves to find lasting love again. He still loves my mother, and that isn't going to change by having you present in his life. I'm glad he doesn't have to live with his love for my mother and be alone for the rest of his life if he can share it with someone like you."

"Oh, darling, that's nothing to apologize for, but I'm very glad to know that you approve."

"What does my baby girl approve of?" Max asked as he walked into the room, not revealing that he'd heard her whole apology.

Brennan scooted over to make room for her dad on the middle of the couch between herself and Susie.

"I was just telling Susie that I think she's good for you. You," she paused, "you look happy. You are, right?"

"Very." He took Susie's hand in his and placed his other hand on top of hers, encasing it between his. He didn't need to say anything else to his daughter about his relationship with this woman. He knew from her nod at his confirmation of his happiness that she was on board and was glad that he was doing well for himself.

But she was still Brennan; she needed a little bit of breathing room following the deeply emotional conversation.

She handed Luke over to his grandfather. "I'm going to go out there and make sure Hodgins isn't talking Booth into making some sort of explosive. I know they've both had quite a bit to drink today."

Jared just walked out from the hallway where he'd emerged from one of the rooms he had been laying down in. "Tempe, you stay right where you are. I'll go check."

Brennan raised her brows at the younger Booth's politeness. Usually he was much more hardheaded and oblivious to chivalrous ways.

She shook the surprise off and stood anyway. "No, I need to move around. Just sitting in one spot for too long makes me bugsy."

"Same old Tempe. I believe you mean it makes you _antsy_."

"Was Hank still laying in one of the rooms?"

"Yeah, but he was asking me if we were going to turn on one of the football games. Is it okay if we go down to the basement?"

"You mean Booth's man cave?"

"He actually calls it that?"

Brennan sighed and laughed, "Yes, he does. You can go down there. Just don't touch his stuff and he'll be fine with it. I'll go tell the boys that playtime is over and that they need to come inside and be sociable. You can all watch the game or something."

"I'll go tell Pops that we can use the room for the game."

**B&B**

After the game, the guests all started to head back toward the kitchen area for various desserts. It was decided that since it was getting late and many of the guests had a little too much to drink, that it would be best to make use of the guest rooms. To make room, the kids all camped out on the floor in Parker's room while Rebecca took her son's bed. The only ones that went home that night were Jared, Padme and Pops. Jared had nothing to drink that day because of his own battle with alcoholism and they needed to get Hank back to the home, and it was getting late as it was.

Once most of the big messes had been cleaned up and every one had retired to their places for the night, Booth and Brennan popped one of the videos Rebecca had given them into the DVD player in their room.

The first one they put in didn't have a label, but when the images came up on the screen, it was the video of Parker's birth. Rebecca had not let him be present, but she had her best friend record it, but she hadn't ever let him view the video either. Booth was a little apprehensive of watching his son come out of his ex's girly parts with his wife right there, but when Booth told Brennan they didn't have to watch the video, she prevented him from stopping it.

"Whether you were there or not, this was one of the moment important events in your life, and if you want to watch it, I have no objections. It's a beautiful thing, Seeley. Watch it."

The relief and joy he felt for her after hearing that she didn't have a problem with Booth watching it was overwhelming enough to bring tears to his eyes before ever seeing much of the video.

They watched Parker's birth together, and they cuddled and squeezed each other in reassurance in all of the important moments. In just a few short months, that was going to be them. They talked a little bit about their fears after seeing what Rebecca went through and they talked about the end result and how worth every bit of agony it was going to be.

They watched a few more together, talking and enjoying seeing the moments of their son's life that they had been previously oblivious to due to circumstances. Booth got a glimpse at many of the firsts he had missed, and Brennan saw how important all of these moments were to Booth. She vowed from that moment on, that no matter what happened between them (because the future is never guaranteed) she would never deny Booth his right to his children. She also vowed to keep a camera constantly on her person so that he would never miss a moment, in case he was away for any reason when something important happens.

* * *

**Reviews make an author's world go round. True story.**

****Shameless plug alert!** I've got a new one-shot called "Requesting Maternity Leave" that I think many of you would find amusing. Summary: Brennan talks to Cam, who is unaware of the pregnancy, about taking maternity leave. Her social skills leave some comical misunderstandings until Cam and Jack start questioning Brennan, who isn't as forthcoming in her answers as she thinks she's being.**

**I'm not sure when the next update will be. This next week is the last week of teaching, so I'll be pretty busy around here. I will work to get it out as quickly as I can without making everyone around me crazy. :)**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	56. She Used the Word Cutie

The day after Christmas, as everyone was getting ready to head back home, Parker was begging his dad to let him go stay with his cousins and Uncle Russ for awhile.

Russ and Amy had been okay with it when the girls had suggested that their new cousin come stay with them.

But Booth and Brennan were a little more apprehensive. There were nights when Parker still woke up from terrifying nightmares about his abuse and the shooting from a few months back. Booth had to start back to work on Monday, and Brennan couldn't go because Booth didn't want her too far from him at all times.

In the end, Russ had talked them into it, saying that he could help care for Luke and see what it is like to live with a new baby for about a week to get the feel for it. Rebecca also agreed that it would be a good idea for him to get the experience before he had two newborn babies thrust into his home life with no preparation.

It really was a good idea, especially while Parker was still on break from school.

There were cheers from all three kids as they ran off to go pack Parker's stuff.

Rebecca shuffled behind the quickly retreating kids, "I'm just… going to go make sure he packs underwear. I know what it's like to get him somewhere only to realize that he only packed pajama pants, t-shirts, and video games."

Booth and Brennan had a lengthy talk with Russ and Amy about Parker's nightmares from his experiences. It seemed to overwhelm them a little bit, but they said they would manage if something like that happened and said they wouldn't hesitate to call if they needed help with what to do. Amy wasn't surprised to hear Brennan tell her that she would be the one he would go to if he had any problems. Besides his dad and Sweets, Parker had a tendency to be more timid around most men, even Russ and Max, as he didn't see them very often. It made sense that he would open up to the mother figure.

Rebecca came back out with the kids towing behind her and not long after, Russ, Amy and the kids were off to Goldsboro.

Max and Susie were gone not too long after as well. Max was going to spend his week off in Raleigh with his girlfriend while he didn't have anything scheduled for work. Max offered to come back next weekend and swing by Russ' to pick up Parker on his way to save either of the other families the long trip.

Rebecca, Angela and Jack all stayed to help clean up the massive mess from the family gathering before going back home for themselves.

After everyone left, and they were finally alone, Brennan tried to seduce Booth into have sex or at least tried to see how far she could get him to go before his common sense kicked in and stopped them.

She learned that she could get him to nearly seal the deal before he pulled away and ran to take a cold shower, muttering the whole way about "Bones clouding his mind with sneaky scientist sexiness".

She would just have to catch him at a time when his thoughts and responses were much slower. She knew just when to get him.

She just had to make a phone call and hope that the person she wanted to talk to would take her call the day after Christmas. He did say to call his cell anytime she needed to.

She checked her blood pressure and then made the call. She'd been writing down her blood pressure readings for the past several days, and for the most part they were much better than they had been. Her medication seemed to be really effective.

She decided to call and inquire about adding sexual intercourse back into the category of things she was allowed to do.

To her surprise he had actually said that it was okay, as long as her readings stayed in the same range they were now.

She knew she could just tell Booth that they could have sex again, but what was the fun it that? She still planned to take him by surprise and take advantage of him.

It was a shame that she had to wait about sixteen more hours to put her plan into action. It almost made her reconsider her plan. Almost.

.

**16 hours later**

She felt her phone buzz beneath her pillow. She'd set an alarm so that she would wake up in time to carry out her actions. She didn't want to make Booth late on his first day back to work since everything had happened. She put her phone on vibrate so that it wouldn't wake him before she had a chance to make the dream she knew he was probably having right about now, come to life.

He turned and chuckled slightly in his sleep.

He was dreaming.

Perfect.

She tapped his cheek lightly, just to make sure that she would have the upper hand for awhile or at least until he had woken up enough to realize that he needed to put a stop to her advances.

He didn't respond.

Perfect.

Ever since she'd started getting restless in the night, his sniper reflexes had dulled toward her movements on the bed and he had become a much heavier sleeper in order to get a good night's rest with her tossing next to him.

She slowly peeled the covers back to reveal her naked husband laying there next to her. Just as she had suspected, he was nearly fully erect from whatever dream he was having that morning.

She leaned in close to the left side of his head near his ear and lightly whispered, "Seeley, whatever you're dreaming, I'm going to make it come true," before taking his earlobe into her mouth and he unconsciously leaned into her warmth with a soft hum of pleasure.

Slowly, she made her way down toward his exposed hips. She hovered her hot mouth over the skin over his left hipbone, a spot that she knew that was especially sensitive to stimuli. She breathed out a hot puff of moist air onto his skin. She watched as goose bumps rose over his body in the dim morning light. She leaned over him to give the same treatment to the other hipbone.

Thoroughly satisfied by his responses to her so far, she gently readjusted her position so that she was more comfortable before she moved her attention to his, now fully erect, penis.

She opened her mouth and huffed a couple of puffs and hot air over the head before taking it into her mouth to moisten his hard length. She let him gently slip from her mouth and then blew fast cool air over it, causing his body to creak out into even bigger goose bumps than he had before.

She toyed with him some more alternating the hot and cold sensations so that he was harder than a rock.

Perfect.

Once she was happy with the results, she gently snuck up his body and positioned herself where she could envelope him into her hot core. She straddled him and with no warning whatsoever, she sank down onto him.

Now, he was beginning to stir and show some signs of waking after having the most delectable heat encompass his most sensitive organ.

"Mmm, Bones."

She let herself adjust and then started to move above him in long slow strokes so that she didn't bring him to full awareness all at once.

Booth's eyes opened slowly, but nearly immediately rolled back closed as he let out soft blissful moans.

After a few minutes of languid movement, Booth finally spoke up.

"Not that I'm complaining about the wonderful wake-up call I'm receiving right now, but I overheard your phone conversation yesterday after lunch; you didn't have to plan a sneak attack."

"Yes I did. I was not aware that you'd heard."

Brennan's movements were still slow and torturous for the both of them, but she'd been told to go gentle and easy at first to see if there would be any problems. She was also to check her blood pressure a few minutes after her respiratory rate went back to normal, and then again an hour later.

"You were much more vocal in your excitement than you think you were. For a second there, I thought Angela was the one in the den instead of you. And for the record, I've been awake since the moment you uncovered me."

"Lies. You don't wake that easily anymore," She exhaled a shaky breath.

"Not with movement, no. But—oh, God!" A deep shudder went through Brennan's body and it clenched him hard. "It's _really_ cold, and I'm naked. Not a good combo. You have no idea how cold it was when you were blowing on my—it was like you stuck my dick in the snow."

"You're not cold now."

"Definitely not."

"You liked it, or you would have stopped me."

"I did like it," he admitted without hesitation.

"And you like what I'm doing to you now."

"Oh, I don't know, Bones…" he started to tease her.

She slapped his chest with an open palm in indignation, "Booth!"

"Oh, so now, I'm back to being just Booth again? Aw, Bones doesn't like me anymore."

"Maybe you need to earn it back."

"You want me to earn my own name. I don't even _like_ my name."

"That isn't the point. I do like it. Everyone calls you Booth. Only a few call you Seeley. Mostly women you've—"

He clapped his hand over her mouth.

"Don't you even finish that statement while we are having sex."

"Fine."

Booth gripped her hips and lifted her off of him. He gave her ass cheek a little swat and she knew exactly what he wanted, so she scrambled to lay on her side with her back to him.

He re-entered her once more, this time from behind so that he could make love to her without her stomach being in the way. She lifted her top leg up and over behind his legs to hook them together and to get him a better angle and more room to thrust more deeply inside of her.

He started to get a little rough, which normally made her enthusiastic, but she had to stop him.

"The… doctor gave me restrictions… not too rough or vigorous."

He adjusted his thrusts, making them strong and steady, but less strenuous on both of them.

"At least for this first time to see how I do. I need to check my blood pressure right after and then about an hour after."

"Okay, so this is what? A trial run?"

Her grabbed her breast and kneaded the tissue beneath his hand.

"I guess you could look at it that way, but I," she bit her lip as she paused, "I'm choosing to view it as making love to my husband, which I haven't done since our road trip to Russ', and that's been a few weeks. This isn't some experiment; I _need_ this."

"I do, too, but I didn't want to push. I would have waited until after the baby came if I needed to."

He wasn't sure he would actually have been able to, but he needed her to know that he would have tried.

He sucked on the nape of her neck as he moved languidly behind her.

"I know you didn't mean it this way, but when you wouldn't touch me because you were afraid that it would lead to heavier intimacy, it made me feel like you just didn't want to touch me. Like maybe you thought I was gross looking and fat and I just didn't turn you on anymore."

He could hear the pout in her voice, and it crushed him that she felt that way. He'd had no intention of making her feel like that. She knew why he couldn't have touched her; if he did, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

He hated the fact that he hadn't seen what her subconscious was turning that fact into.

He stopped moving and brought his mouth right up next to her ear, his breathing causing her to shiver. He made sure he had her attention.

"Don't you ever feel that way, Bones. There is no way I could ever not be attracted to you. We've had this conversation before. My eyes only see you. My brain only releases that chemical concoction, that you say makes up what we feel when we love someone, for you. You are not fat. Our children are developing right here," he said running his hand over her swollen belly, "and beside their mother, that is the most beautiful thing in the world to me. I live for the moments I get to see you, and them, completely un-obscured by clothes or covers. Call me a horn dog, but seriously, the very thought of you standing before me, as naked as the day you were born, gives me a hard on. Do you have any idea how many times a day I think about that? Then, I come home to it. God, Bones, I was afraid that I'd cause you to have a stroke, so I couldn't touch you because I would lose control. It had nothing to do with you or how you looked. I on the other hand, have impulse control issues. Gambling is a fine example of that, and ravaging my wife is another. I was afraid of losing control."

"I understand, Booth. I really do. It's just these hormones are clouding my every thought. I have lost so much of my rational thinking lately. That scares me."

"Aw, baby."

He caressed her body with his hands as he started moving with her again.

"I need you to talk to me about these things, Bones. I need you to tell me when you are feeling scared about something or when you feel like something I do is confusing you or if you just feel like you think I'm not paying as much attention to you as you need. I'm here." His speech was rapid and broken, but the message was not lost.

"I know. I love you," she said on a strangled gasp, the pleasure coursing through her sensitive tissue."

"I love you too, Bones. So much. So so sooo much!" He grunted as he spilled hotly inside of her.

**B&B**

Booth's first day back to work had been less than thrilling. They had a new case for him, but it wasn't even one that he would need the squints on and he'd even closed it by the end of the day.

His second day back was even worse. Paperwork. God, he hated paperwork.

He called Cullen around lunchtime and asked if this was his only task for the day. When his boss told him that it was, he groaned and actually voiced his opinion on the matter. He rambled about how he only enjoyed paperwork when he did it with his partner, not his temporary one, his _real_ one. He'd made sure to emphasize the only thing that had ever made doing paperwork worthwhile was doing it with his partner. He hadn't meant to spill his thoughts over the phone, but he was frustrated. Cullen just laughed on the other end, saying that if Booth ever made it far enough to have his job, he'd quit by the end of his first day with all of the bullshit paperwork that crossed his desk.

Then Cullen came up with the idea that since his wife was just sitting around at home, that he could go ahead and take his work home with him as long as he had it back by the end of the day. His idea was that they could keep each other company and maybe his agent would actually get some work done rather than complain about it and at the same time, he would be able to keep an eye on his already restless wife and keep her out of trouble. Cullen had known her long enough to know that she would find herself in some sort of ordeal if she wasn't careful.

Booth moved like a hurricane out of his office as he grabbed his things and headed out.

He wasn't sure what he expected Bones to be doing when he got home. He was sure that she wouldn't completely take it easy. It just wasn't _her_ to sit around and do nothing all day.

Of all the things he expected to see or didn't expect to see… His Bones was curled up on the couch with a quilt, a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream, and she was sobbing (or laughing? He couldn't tell.) as she watched something on the TV.

Booth walked in carefully, but her focus remained on the screen.

He looked to the TV.

Was that? No, no way.

His wife didn't watch that crap!

Oh, but she was, and apparently, she was very into it at the moment.

"Bones are you watching a daytime soap opera?" He asked in disbelief.

"Shh!" She responded with a frantic shake of her hand as she tried to tell him that she was trying to hear what was going on.

He raised a single eyebrow at her and then walked to the den to drop his paperwork off before trying to figure out what the hell was up with her.

He went back into the family room and to check on her. Yep, still completely consumed by the garbage on TV.

He waited for a commercial break before attempting to talk to her.

"Hey, Bones. Let's turn this off for a while, huh?" He reached for the remote.

"What? Why? It just came on. Yesterday, they left us on a pretty big cliffhanger. I need to find out if that big blue-eyed very muscular guy that always has a gun and his girlfriend are going to be able to have a baby. Apparently she couldn't have children, but she had some sort of medical procedure done so that she could possibly carry a baby. They are going to find out if it worked. On top of all of that, there is this crazy serial killer artist that has apparently been after him for a long time. He apparently threatened the blue-eyed guy's best friend's daughter when she was an infant by breaking into her nursery and spray painting his calling card. And the little girl apparently is battling cancer and her parents seem to be going through a really rough divorce. Oh, and there's this cutie named, Lucky," Booth had to look away from her and hide his surprise as he mouthed the word 'cutie', "who fathered a baby by this Elizabeth woman, but his half-brother's crazy grandmother changed the DNA test to make it look like the brother is the father instead. And remember the blue-eyed guy, he _also _fathered a kid by this Elizabeth woman, but only a few people knew that he was the real father. Lucky was the actual father in every way that counted because apparently the blue-eyed guy works for the mob and he very dangerous to be around. Well, that cute kid was hit by a car driven by Lucky's own father. Can you believe that? It's just so sad. I never realized how intricate these plot lines get in these shows."

"You got all of that from watching for two days? Bones, I'm turning this crap off. You are getting worked up about stuff that isn't even real, and it's going to rot your beautiful brain."

"No! Booth, leave it on. I want to find out. It's like reading a book, you want to read all the way through until there is resolution."

"Bones, it's a soap opera," he said slowly as if it would make her understand any better. "There is never complete resolution. Things like that takes months on these shows, and even then once one crisis is averted or resolved, another one takes its place. That's how the writers keep you sucked into these shows. Trust me, you will appreciate me for telling you to just turn that shit off now and stop wasting your time."

"Shh, it's coming back on."

"What is this show anyway?"

"General Hospital."

"Okay. Have fun," Booth kissed her forehead and left her to find out whether or not the conflicts get resolved as she hoped, even though he knew it was unlikely. Booth didn't understand the draw the show had on her. It wasn't anthropology, educational, or at the very least an intelligent drama series. She didn't even know most of the characters' names.

Booth picked his phone up and walked into the kitchen to get himself some lunch.

And he decided to call Angela.

"_Hello."_

"Angela, hey, it's Booth."

"_Oh, hey, gorgeous. Do we have a case?"_

"No, why would I call you for a case?"

"_I don't know, I thought maybe there was some sort of creepy serial killer artist of the loose or something."_

"Uh, no. Only in that show Bones is watching and you know what, don't even put ideas like that out into the universe. I hope to never need to use you to analyze some sick fuck's _art work_. That one time with the compacted car was enough, thanks."

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up. What is Bren watching?"_

"That's actually the reason I called you. She's watching daytime TV in there. Some show called General Hospital. I got home for lunch and to work on paperwork from home today and she was in there crying into a tub of ice cream. This show that she barely knows is getting her worked up…"

Angela had to hold her thumb over the mouthpiece of her phone in order to keep Booth from hearing hear loud laughter over hearing her super-rational best friend had gotten sucked into a soap having been home alone for only two days.

"…Are you laughing? Unbelievable. I called you for advice on how I should handle this, because you and I _both_ know that when Bones looks back on this, she'll kill me for not putting a stop to it, but just barely walked in the room and made noise before getting shushed, and then when I suggested she turn it off, I got the entire synopsis of a show she's only watched for two days. Two days, Ange! Where is my wife? I think the babies have replaced her. She used the word 'cutie' to describe one of the men on the show! _Cutie_!"

"_Okay, okay. Slow down, hot rod. Who did she call a cutie?"_ Angela could help her curiosity.

"Some guy named Lucky. How is that relevant?"

"_Oh, it isn't. Hmmm, that hottie played by Jonathan Jackson? He _is_ a cutie. Way to go, Bren. She's got good taste, Booth."_

"Ange, you're not helping, here. Did you get her hooked on this show? How do you even know who that is?"

"_Uh, Roxie used to watch that show," _was her simple reply and nothing more was said on the subject._ "Booth you need to relax a little. Bren is just, well… she's being a girl right now. I don't think there is anything we can do except hope that it's a phase."_

"A phase? My mom watched those shows for years! That's a little more than a phase."

"_Hey, this could be a good thing for you guys, actually. It can be a sort of baby-mama sitter. You won't have to worry about her getting into trouble while you're away if she has been sucked into those shows during her leave."_

"But the crying and anxiety that she's experiencing… if this causes a set back with her blood pressure we'll have to stop the sex, Ange! I don't know if I can do that again. We went just over three weeks with absolutely nothing. We've been given a tentative okay from her doctor to resume, but I can't give it up already!"

"_One, what have you done with the prudish Seeley Booth I know? Two, I know she offered to give you release; I still don't understand why you didn't let her."_ Booth groaned. Apparently another talk was in order to tell her that their lack of sex-life is just as off-limits as their active sex-life.._ "Three, I don't think that this will really be a problem. I mean, she knows it isn't real, right?"_

"I think so, but c'mon, she thinks Jersey Shore is a documentary."

"_She what?"_

"Yeah, I know. And I can't convince her otherwise either. She finds it fascinating and she never misses an episode."

"_Wow, soaps and reality TV. I never thought I would see the day that she would even willingly watch anything made beyond 1960,"_ she mused out loud._ "Okay, so you said that you're home for the rest of the day, right?"_

"Yeah, at least until I have to go turn in a few case files that are due by the end of the day."

"_Okay, take the time to quietly observe her. Do what Bren would do. Study her. See how she reacts to the show; see if it's the only one she's gotten sucked into. Hell, if you need to, walk up to her with the blood pressure cuff and demand she take it. See if when she's upset over something on the show affects her. Other than just observing her, I've got nothing, g-man. In my opinion, she's just being a normal woman right now. It's probably just the hormones and the Bren that I know won't let that last too long after birth."_

"Yeah, well, it's strange coming from her."

"_I know, trust me. Do you know how many times I've tried her to have a normal girls' night out and other girly stuff? Relax. So how is she doing other than that?"_

"She's good. Her blood pressure has been on the high side of normal lately, but still normal. Oh, and she still refuses to prick her fingers to check her blood sugar unless I do mine first, but whatever gets it done, right? Those reading have been relatively normal as well, so all of her medications seem to be doing the trick."

"_Good. Well, let me know how things go, alright? I need to get back to work."_

"Alright, thanks for listening, Ange. You're the best. Bye."

"_Don't I know it. Goodbye, Sweet thang."_

Booth rolled his eyes and flipped his phone shut. He poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"Why is Ange the best, Seeley?" Booth heard from behind him.

"Oh, nothing really. I just talked her ear off. I was just thanking her for listening to my crap."

"That's unusual. It's typically the other way around."

"Yeah. Hey, aren't you watching that show? What are you doing in here? I could bring you whatever you need."

"It's a commercial. I just needed to put this ice cream away and grab a glass of water. I can handle it just fine. I needed to get up and move around anyway. One of the babies has positioned himself to stretch across my abdomen and is putting outward pressure on my eighth through twelfth costae which is also stretching my costal cartilage. Very unpleasant."

"English?"

"My ribs are being ripped apart."

"Oh." He nodded and then turned back to make his sandwich.

"So is that the only show you've gotten into? Or are there more?"

"It's the only one."

"So what else have you been up to today?"

"Nothing really. You didn't wake me up to kiss me goodbye this morning and so I slept until almost eleven."

"I did too come in to kiss you goodbye this morning."

"Well, I don't remember," she countered.

"I nudged you. You mumbled and turned toward me and puckered your lips and kissed me. You moaned and then turn back over without saying a single thing or even opening your eyes. I don't think you even really woke up at all."

"I'm sorry. I don't remember."

"It's okay. It's good you got some rest. I'm glad. You needed it. The thing with Hacker, the moving, Christmas… It was a lot to handle while taking it easy."

"That might be an understatement," she admitted. "I'm going to go make sure that the show doesn't come back on without me."

"Yeah, okay."

She turned to walk out of the kitchen, "Hey, Bones?"

She turned back.

"I love you. Can I kiss you hello? You weren't very receptive earlier when I walked in."

She walked back over and gave him a brief kiss before making her way back out to the family room to watch her new show.

"I love you, too. Just don't come in there making a bunch of noise."

* * *

**I hope you found that as amusing as I did to write. I don't watch General Hospital anymore, but I used to, religiously. Anyway, my sister still watches and I am not very current with the story arcs, but I occasionally ask my sister what has been going on in the show, out of morbid curiosity mostly, so if it isn't exactly right or current, not my fault. Blame my sister.**

**I'd love to hear your thoughts. **

**XOXO,**  
**CrayonClown**


	57. Babies, Babies, Babies

**Important! You might want to check to make sure that you read the previous chapter. Alerts were wacky that day or something. Some people got alerts, some people got them several days later and a few people I talked to never got one for the previous chapter.**

* * *

"Angela, no matter what, there is nothing you can do or say that will make me forget what today is, especially since Booth got called in for a case early this morning. Speaking of, shouldn't you be at the lab working on an ID?"

Angela had come over mid-morning after Booth called to let her know that he needed her to go spend some time with Brennan on their two month anniversary to try to get Brennan out of the house to do something, anything, to occupy her mind

While Temperance Brennan was not a sentimental woman, _pregnant_ Temperance Brennan was. She'd been looking forward to their two-month anniversary for the past couple of days. She'd seen something on the food network that she wanted to try to make for dinner that night.

When Brennan had stated her every intent to be a "human sloth" since she wasn't going to be able cook for Booth that night, Angela decided to bring up the idea of working on the nursery. Brennan had caught on quickly that Angela had been called over to keep her company and Brennan didn't like it.

"No, everyone at the lab is still off for the holidays. Booth didn't even call Wendell in for this one. He's using the FBI crime techs. You're his wife, I figured you would know this already."

"I didn't even know he had left this morning until I woke up to a note on his side of the bed. He was supposed to have New Year's Eve off for our two month anniversary." Brennan was on the verge of tears and she could feel them coming on, but fought them back as hard as she could. She was well aware of the fact that she was pouting and acting whiny, but she just could bring herself to care that she was acting like she'd seen Parker act on a few occasion after not getting his way. "He hasn't been telling me much about his work these past few days that he's been back. He says he doesn't want to stress me out, but I think not knowing what he's doing or who he's working with has me more stressed than I would be if I knew."

"Booth can handle himself, Sweetie."

"It's not him I'm worried about. There's—"

"What? You think you have competition? No, Booth is, very clearly, a taken man, dare I even say pussy-whipped."

"Ange!"

"What? It's true. You value truth."

"I do; but I don't appreciate the term you used. Booth wouldn't approve either, no matter how true."

"Fine."

"I know what we could do while you're here. We could start on plans for the nursery." Brennan said as if she'd had the idea first.

"Didn't I bring that up half an hour ago?" Angela sighed.

"Yes, but I was mad about being babysat. Now, I'm genuinely excited to start. Normally, I'd be watching General Hospital at this time, but apparently they are showing a rerun from several years ago, and I have no desire to watch that."

"Why did you even get into GH in the first place? It just doesn't seem like something you would be interested in."

"Honestly, when I turned the TV on, the show was just on the channel the TV had been left on from the night before. There are some very nice looking males on that show, Ange, and before I knew it, I just had find out what was going to happen the next day. "

"Bren, do yourself a favor, if Booth asks why you chose to start watching daytime, do not tell him that it was because you were checking out all the hot men. He will end up back in therapy for shooting his very nice TV."

.

Brennan and Angela stood in what was mostly a plain empty room. There was very little in the room yet as they were trying to pick a theme and colors.

"They'll share this room right; you're not going to have two nurseries?"

"They will share this room. One crib on this wall, the other one on the opposite wall, and this center space between will be the changing area. I also want a rocking chair in the corner by the closet where the least amount of light from the window hits.

"Okay, do you want painted furniture or would you prefer a natural wood."

"Booth wants a brown mahogany wood. He said that if we couldn't find any furniture like that that if we bought unstained and unsealed furniture, he wouldn't mind doing it himself."

"Good idea. I'll come up with a color palette after we come up with ideas for themes. C'mon, Sweetie. Grab your laptop from your office and come to the living room. We're going to sit down and do some research on themes and bedding and other stuff."

.

"Okay, so baby jungle animals are out because even though they are_ cartoon baby animals_, in real life they would likely maul an infant. And everything else you've shot down for one reason or another. So, what do you—"

"Does there have to be a theme?"

"You're kidding right?"

"No, I'm not."

"Bren…"

"…What if I want just plain colored walls, huh?"

"Plain?"

"Yes. A nice light color that is both serene and soothing and invokes calm. You want to paint waterfalls and flowers and wild animals and that's _not_ what I want."

Brennan knew from the look on Angela's face that she had hurt her friend and that she probably seemed really ungrateful for the help, which was very untrue, but she'd realized just how much she was giving up by allow Angela to take over the plans for the nursery as they talked more and more.

These were her first children. She didn't know if they would have any more children after Parker and the twins. She found that she really wanted to handle more of the decisions than she'd thought because this might be her only chance to make such decisions.

"I understand you want to help and make this special for us, but please? Please. Can we just make this a simple nice room for two little boys. Instead of painting a themed mural all over the room, how about we paint the walls a solid color and you can occasionally paint a painting that we could change out on the wall from time to time for a little variation. We don't need anything extravagant."

"I can do that, but Sweetie, is there something else bothering you? Certainly you're not upset just because I didn't suggest a suitable theme."

Brennan smiled at her friend and shrugged. "I was foolish to believe that I could give you complete control over the plans for the nursery. I would still like your help getting stuff and getting it all put together, but I want to pick out the bedding, furniture, colors, toys, curtains, and everything. I'm sitting here all day, alone, in this huge house with nothing to do. This will give me something to do."

"Aw, of course, Bren. I'll just help you with whatever _you_ want to do. You can pick everything, and next time I overstep, can you please just tell me without letting your irritation build up to where you bite my head off?"

"I'm sorry."

**B&B**

"The baby cries a lot, huh?" Hayley asked Parker.

Luke had been crying a lot that day. Amy said he felt feverish and was not feeling too good.

"Yeah, I knew they cried, but I had no idea they cried this much. He must be really unhappy."

"With Aunt Tempe having two babies, there will probably be twice as much crying." Emma didn't mean any harm by saying this but it really made Parker think.

Parker swallowed the hard lump in his throat at the thought. He loved his baby cousin, but this was certainly more work than he'd thought it would be. Lucas cried all the time, the adults were constantly tending to his needs and Parker had even helped some. He'd changed his first diaper. He'd changed it again because he was proud of himself for doing it the first time, only to get peed on, and then he was more hesitant to try it again, but was able to get the job done. He'd helped bathe Lucas. He'd fed him a lot, and Parker really like helping out, but it was a lot of work for such a tiny human.

When Emma brought up the fact that he would soon have two babies in his house, the very thought scared him a little. He knew that he would love his brothers, but spending this time with his extended family, he realized just how much his home life was about to change. He wasn't going to be the sole focus of his dad and Bones anymore and he was going to have responsibilities that he'd never had before.

**B&B**

Booth came in the door shortly after four in the afternoon. He was out of breath and it was clear in was in a hurry and clear that he wasn't there to stay based on the fact that he left the door open and jogged through the house startling both women on the couch in the living room. He was glad to see, on his way through the living room, that she was decently dressed enough to go somewhere.

They both sat up straighter as he jogged back into the living room with a shoulder bag that none of them had really seen in a few months. Then Brennan recognized it as her field bag. Booth was trying to catch his breath as he beckoned her to go with him.

"C'mon, Bones. Let's see if you remember the drill. I'll explain on the way. Ange, you, too."

Booth stopped Brennan before she opened the door to the SUV and pulled her into a brief kiss, "Happy Two Month Anniversary, baby." She returned the sentiment and the kiss and then he opened the door for her to get in.

Once they were all in the SUV, and Booth's breathing had returned to normal, he began.

"We have a case…"

"Obviously," Angela chimed in. "You know we were in the middle an "I Love Lucy" marathon…"

"Can it, Ange. This is serious enough that Cullen specifically asked for Bones, _knowing_ that she should be resting, not to mention the fact that he basically commanded that we break policy to do so." Booth took a deep breath before trying to begin again. "If the crack FBI team I've been stuck with today is right, then our vic appears to be ex-Supreme Court Justice Edward Flanagan, age seventy-eight. Cullen wants to be sure about this ID before we continue further. We've kept the body at the site because Cullen knew we would probably have to call you in for this. There can be no mistakes here. Understood?"

Both women said yes and Booth continued.

"Okay, Bones, the body is mostly your kind of body. Cam is on her way. You are there to observe and confirm and maybe answer questions we don't yet have answers to. You are not to kneel over the body or touch it, as it has been doused in something that the techs have not been able to identify yet."

"What about Jack?" Angela asked, knowing her husband could find the answer to that question faster than anyone else.

"I've called him, he's also on his way. Hey, Bones. I'm serious do not get near the body until we get the all clear from Hodgins' analysis that whatever that shit is isn't hazardous. I don't even want you there breathing this stuff, but I've secured a suit and mask for you from the Hazmat team."

"Did they have a suit big enough to fit a whale?" Brennan asked. She hated the idea of wearing a suit and mask, but knew it was necessary if she was going to be there against the better judgment of everyone.

"Honestly, I have no idea if they got one that will fit your stomach." Booth moved on, "Ange, you just need to sit tight until we need you. The scene is…"

Booth didn't even have to say it. "Got it."

They pulled up to a garish place, a lot like their own, about forty minutes into their drive.

"Wow, nice place," Angela commented.

"It belonged to Justice Flanagan. The body is in the private gardens around the back. We've covered this whole property looking for…anything, everything that we can possibly find. So far, there has been no sign of struggles or fights in any other parts of the property and the only sign of identification is the fact that Flanagan has not been seen by his neighbors in nearly two months. They all say the same thing, though. It was not unusual for him to pick up and be gone for a few months at a time. He's got properties in Austria, Spain, California, Colorado and Texas. He's retired, lives alone, and isn't tied down to anyone or anything at the moment and so they didn't think anything of him not being here."

"No family?" Angela asked.

"That we know of? No. His wife died several years ago, and they didn't have any kids. His siblings have all passed," Booth replied. "One more thing," he turned to his wife, "Cam does not know that you will be here. I went over her head for this to happen, so…beware of that. If she says anything about it just direct her to talk to me, and I will deal with it. You shouldn't have to."

Brennan suited up, barely; it was tight, but it worked and they walked around the building. Angela hung back as they approached.

The body was very much in her area of expertise, as Booth had said.

Hodgins was already there taking samples and taking them to the portable crime lab that the FBI had set up.

Cam had not yet arrived, and Brennan stood over the body, analyzing what she could from what was visible to her without having to crouch over the body.

She relayed some of her quick observations.

"I'm sure the others and Hodgins have already determined this, but there appears to be no clothing and it looks as if decomp has been sped up by _heavy _insect and animal activity. It's possible that this substance is something that was used to attract animals or insects to speed up the process of decomposition. Some bones are scattered; I don't see a skull and the pelvic bone is slightly buried so I can't yet tell sex or race… Did he own any dogs?"

"No," Hodgins said as he walked back up to the body, "the teeth marks on the flesh and bones look like it's from cats."

"God, I hate cats." Booth muttered under his breath.

Brennan looked at the marks on the bones. "I agree. These teeth marks look feline. The depth, spacing and size are all consistent with that of a house cat. If this substance is hazardous, then the neighborhood needs to be searched for dead cats. If they've ingested hazardous material then their remains could become environmental hazards themselves. I wouldn't be unhappy if any living cats were brought in so that Hodgins can analyze their stool for evidence."

Cam rounded the corner just about the time Brennan finished talking, and the shock of seeing Brennan out and about working, much less in the field, threw her for a second. Booth caught her arrival and filed her in as quickly as possible to diffuse the situation. Booth was aware how big of a liability it was for the Jeffersonian to have such a high profile pregnant employee out in the field right now and that it was putting Cam in the line of fire. He was even more aware of the personal liability on himself and his conscience if something were to go wrong.

Cam was angry that it had been taken over her head, but she was marginally glad, and relieved, that precautions had been taken to keep Brennan safe. She crammed down her irritation at the situation as she kneeled down to get to work. She uncovered some of the bones from the goopy stuff and some of the surrounding soil.

"That is not Edward Flanagan," she heard from above her not even a full minute after beginning her work.

Booth looked at his wife amazed by her ability to tell, but he was looking for her explanation as to why she said that. He needed absolute proof.

"Cam just uncovered the pelvis of a female," Brennan pointed.

"Excuse me?" Booth looked shocked and his eyes bore deeply into hers. "Bones, are you sure?"

"Yes." Then pointing to another area, "Epiphyses fusion puts her age around eighteen to twenty-two. Without a skull, I cannot determine race."

Booth wrote down everything she said.

"Actually Doctor B? I think I found the skull." Hodgins pointed inside a bush where a cat had dragged the head so that it could eat without being disturbed.

Brennan walked over and used her gloved hands to pull the head out of the bush, where the cat scattered out at the disruption of its meal.

"Someone catch that cat!" Brennan ordered, and then focused on the skull. "The rounded orbits suggest Asian. The vertebrae appear to have been severed with a hard blade of some kind. It's a slightly curved clean through cut right until the very edge where it snapped apart from the force. The murder weapon is likely to be a shovel."

Brennan handed the skull to Cam, after she remembered she was not supposed to touch it. Then she turned to her husband.

"Booth, you've been gone since, well, I don't even know what time you left this morning, and your FBI guys have been out here all day, and no one had the basic skills to come to the conclusion that instead of an elderly man they were looking at the remains of a young woman?"

Booth leaned in closely. "That is why Cullen wanted _you_ here. To tell us sex, age, and race to help speed up identification. These guys are so ready to slap a toe tag on the body as Flanagan just because it was his house. So now we're possibly looking at a double homicide because he's still missing or maybe old Flanagan was a regular Hugh Hefner and things got a little out of hand and then he fled. Damn, this case is going to be a career killer if things go to shit. Shaw!" Booth shouted out to get the attention of a young agent.

She looked over and when he motioned for her to join him she dropped what she was doing and came over quickly.

"Talk to the neighbors again. See if they've noticed any women hanging around here. I'm talking women your age. We need to find out if he liked to entertain girls around here."

"On it, Sir," and she turned to go question the neighbors once more.

"Burns!" Booth once again called out, this time to his long time friend, Charlie. "We need to get a grid on everything on this property. I want samples of everything. Fingerprints, carpet fibers, air samples, soil samples, and we're looking for a shovel as a possible murder weapon or anything that has a hard curved blade capable of severing a head from a body."

"Right away." Charlie walked away and started barking orders into his radio to various agents around the property.

"Can I have your keys?"

"Sure, why?"

"Angela and I are going to go relax in the truck. I'm not going to stand around here in this hot suit waiting for word on toxicity of the goop. I'm tired."

"Okay, I'll have Cam oversee the extraction and transport of the remains to the Jeffersonian."

"Thank you, babe." Then Booth risked a little bit of PDA. There was nothing wrong with a husband kissing his wife, especially when it wasn't some big secret and as long as they weren't practically mauling each other.

.

Booth walked out to the truck and got in the driver's side almost two hours later. The sun was just now setting and Booth knew that the ladies hadn't eaten anything in a few hours and he hadn't had anything more than the blueberry bagel he'd eaten on his way out the door early that morning.

"Here's the plan. It's changed a little. Hodgins is still working the analysis of that girl's death soup or whatever it is. He's decided to take things back to the lab. The equipment is faster and better. I'm taking you ladies to dinner and then I'm taking you by the house where we're all going to get some sleep and then we can work on this in the morning. Angela, I'm sorry I didn't need you as I thought I would have."

"It's fine. I was able to keep Bren company while she waited for you to come back from the scene."

.

Later that night in Goldsboro, Parker tossed and turned in his sleep as he dreamed vividly.

_Parker's parents just walked in the front door of their house for the first time with their two new twin boys. Parker had been up to the hospital to see them through the nursery window, and briefly with Bones right after the birth, but after that Rebecca had taken him home where he was told he would have to stay until his parents came home._

_The babies had arrived a few weeks early so he wasn't really allowed around them and they had to stay in the hospital for longer than a couple of days. During that time his dad and Bones had only stopped by a few times to check on him and they would alternate who came home to sleep. After what felt like two weeks of being alone in his house, they had finally come home with everyone._

_As Booth walked in with one carrier in his hand and Brennan with the other, he beckoned for his oldest to come to the living room, "Hey Parker, we're home. Come meet your brothers!"_

_Parker ran in from his room where he'd been playing video games, "Wow, finally! Which one is which?"_

"_I've got Jacob Douglas," Booth responded, "and Bones has Joseph Tyler."_

"_Hi, Jake. Hi, Joey. It's me, Parker. I'm your big brother. Can I hold them?"_

"_Sure thing, bud. Go wash your hands and sit on the couch."_

_Parker did as he was told and was finally ready to hold his baby brothers for the first time._

_He held both arms out like he was going to cradle two footballs and a baby was placed in each of his arms._

"_Wow, this is so cool. How do I tell them apart?" Parker asked, but when he looked up both of his parents were gone. They had vanished. He called out to the several times and received no answer._

_After quite some time, Parker figured out that they were gone and weren't coming back. He shifted himself to where he could lay one baby down and then shift the other to lay next the other. Parker got off the couch and then moved to put the babies back into their carriers for now so that he could search the house._

_First he searched the kitchen, the man cave, the office, the master bedroom, and then he searched the nursery. They were nowhere to be found. He even looked in the guest rooms. _

_He found that each of the guest rooms had also been turned into nurseries, which struck him as odd._

_When he finally found them, they were standing in his own room. They were discussing what they were going to do about the other babies that were on their way. They were going to need to use his room and they were discussing what they were going to do with him and his stuff to make room. As they discussed it, his room transformed right before his eyes as they came up with a solution. _

_His full sized bed shrunk into a small twin sized mattress that was shoved in a corner of the room as more baby furniture and toys popped up around him._

_He ran out of the room and went back to Joey and Jake in the living room, where he once again found his parents. They were standing holding the babies he'd come back to see. _

_But Bones appeared as if she was pregnant again and she looked about ready to pop. She started to emanate a brilliant golden glow and then with a whitish yellow flash she was slim again._

_Parker heard a baby cry down the hall from one of the bedrooms. Parker was confused at the sound of the baby coming from down the hallway when his parents stood right in front of him, holding his twin brothers._

"_Hey Park, can you get him? We're busy, here."_

_Parker didn't respond, but went in search of the crying baby. Upon finding the baby in the original nursery Parker lowered the side on the crib and rubbed his hand on the baby's tummy to sooth the crying. Then, just as he had learned to do with his cousin, Lucas, he picked the baby up and rocked him gently and spoke softly to him._

"_Are you another baby or are you Jake or Joey? And who were those other babies? What the heck just happened with Bones? I don't understand what is happening."_

_Booth walked in the room holding a baby in his hands and a bottle in the other. "Here, give him this."_

"_Dad, which one is Jake and which one is Joey?"_

"_Jake and Joey are in the living room with Bones. That's," he gestured toward the baby Parker was holding, "Casey and this one is Derek."_

_Parker stood open-mouthed and simply nodded not sure what to say or do._

"_When you're done feeding Casey, Julie and Abigail need changed, Kelsey, Jordan, Sydney and Kaylee all need baths. By time you're done with that, Casey will need bathed and changed as well. Then when you're done with all of that, come check on the others."_

_Others? How could there possibly be others?_

"_Others?" Parker gulped as a baby started to cry somewhere in the house._

"_Yeah, there's Aaron, Katy, Alex, Christopher," with each name, another baby started crying and each cry got louder and louder, "Taylor, Dylan, Charlotte, Grace, James, Hank, Jenna, Charlie, Maxwell," the cries were deafening now, "Amy, Amelia, Katy, Patrick…"_

Parker bolted upright in a cold sweat. It had been a few weeks since his last nightmare, and that was about the shooting. He had no idea what to make of this dream.

He wouldn't start having nightmares about being a big brother, would he? He shrugged it off as a side effect of the comment Emma had made earlier.

He laid there and thought for a few minutes. Luke wasn't really all that bad. He was a lot of work, but everyone pitched in to help. If everyone at his house did the same thing, two babies wouldn't be so bad either.

There was no way his dream could ever come close to reality. That was comforting, but he was startled as he heard crying start in the next room. He sighed, knowing that it was only one baby, and the muffled sound through the wall wasn't even that bad.

He got up anyway and walked through the hall to the bathroom first to go to the bathroom and then get a damp washcloth. He wiped his face and decided he needed to change his pajamas as they were soaked with sweat. He went back to the guest room he was staying in and changed.

When he was done, the baby was still crying.

He walked down the hall and into the nursery where his uncle Russ was rocking the baby in the chair.

Russ looked up as Parker's movement into the room caught his eyes. "I thought I heard someone else awake out there. Did he wake you up?"

"No." Parker shook his head, not offering any more information.

"Come sit by me?" Russ asked as he moved over in the oversized chair and made room.

Parker obliged and sat next to his uncle as Russ brought his arm around the boy and hugged him close into his side. He went to run his hands through Parker's golden curls but found damp tresses instead of the soft smooth hair he'd expected. And Parker snuggled closely into Russ' side seeking more of the comfort and safety he felt there.

"Your hair is damp, Parker. Did you have a nightmare?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want me to call your dad so you can talk to him?"

"No," Parker replied. Russ was easy to talk to. "I'll tell you. It was crazy."

"How so?"

Parker explained his nightmare and his concerns about being a big brother to not one but two little baby brothers.

"That's understandable," Russ said.

"It is?"

"Sure. You're an only child and have been for ten years. That's a long time to have the focus solely on you. Now, you're going to have to share the attention."

"You're a big brother to Bones right? She's younger."

"Yep. I'm almost five years older."

"Do you remember what it was like to go from getting all of the attention to only getting what you needed while she got the rest."

"No, not really, but I can tell you that I never felt cheated out of anything, especially love. I was old enough to start doing things on my own. I didn't need mom and dad as much as Tempe did when she was a baby, and when she got old enough to start doing things on her own, she did. Then, up until they left to protect us, mom and dad were just there for us when we needed them and the love never stopped or fluxuated between us. They never loved or treated us differently from the other."

Parker nodded in understanding.

"Let me ask you something, other than driving you around and making dinner for the family, what do they really do for you? Do they wipe your butt or do you? Do they give you a bath or can you do it yourself? Do they clean your room or do you? When you want a snack, do you ask Tempe or Booth to make it for you or do you just do it yourself? You probably watch TV, play games, do your homework, read, and go to bed all by yourself, or do they help you."

"I guess I do that mostly by myself. I have to ask if I want I snack, but I get it myself when they say I can have one. Sometimes, I need help on my homework, but I do it myself, and dad still tucks me in, but he doesn't read to me like he used to have to do to make me fall asleep."

"Well, I bet none of that changes when the babies come. You'll still do what you do by yourself, and you'll get more responsibilities to do by yourself as you get older, but they will always be there to go to your games, help with homework, and give you permission to do stuff. That will not change."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I do. And I know you are probably worried about the amount of extra work you'll have to do to help out with the babies, but Booth and Tempe will do that majority of it. Sure, some of it will fall to you, but you should feel lucky that you are old enough and responsible enough to be given such a duty in the household. Help your dad and Tempe as much as you can with the little things and they'll have more time available to spend with you."

"That makes sense. It'll still be a big change though, huh?"

"Yeah, but sometimes, change is very good. When they grow up you'll get to play with them and they'll get old enough to play as well, then they'll get old enough to rough-house and wrestle with. And they'll look up to you so much. You've got a lot to look forward to."

"Yeah," Parker said with a sleepy dreamlike acknowledgment and while he was still nervous, he was no longer afraid of the changes and responsibilities. His only worry now, as he drifted off to sleep, with the comfort of Russ' arm around him, was about being the best big brother he could possibly be to his brothers.

* * *

**Are you still with me here? The reviews on the last chapter were way down. It could have been because of the alert thingy not working right, but I'm just trying to make sure.  
**

**I'm working on one now where B&B are called to a meeting with Sweets following the news of their new relationship. Should be very funny.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	58. The Soprano in the Sorority

**Sorry for the wait. This chapter is over 7,500 words to make up for it. There was a whole lot of research done for this one as well as fitting the puzzle pieces of the case together. Stuff like that is difficult when your brain has been elsewhere. **

**This chapter is case heavy, but B&B have a few good bicker moments. Hopefully, it's worth the wait.**

* * *

"Booth," the grumpy FBI agent barked into his phone upon being woken up by its ring.

"_Good morning dad,"_ his son's "too-cheerful for this early" voice came over the phone.

"Hey, Park. Havin' fun?" He brightened his tone, only slightly.

"_Yeah. Loads. I'm learning a lot, too. Babies are hard work, dad."_

"Nyeah, they arrrre," Booth replied with a mumble, and nearly falling back to sleep as he balanced the phone on his cheek with his head still buried in the pillow.

"_Did I wake you up?"_ Parker asked, recognizing his father's "_I want to go back to sleep_" tone.

"Uhmm, mmmaybee."

"_I'm guessing you guys celebrated the New Year a little too hard?"_ Parker asked.

When he received no answer he started to call for his dad to get his attention.

"_Dad."_

Silence.

"_Da-aad."_

Nothing.

"_DAD!"_

"What!" Booth jumped as his son's voice startled him awake. As Booth raised to sit himself up, he somehow kicked his heel backward, kicking Brennan in the rear and waking her up as his phone slid off his face and down to the floor.

Booth remembered that he had been talking to Parker, as Brennan grumbled about spousal abuse and Booth leaned down to the floor to pick up the phone that had landed there a few seconds before.

"Parker? You still there?"

"_Yep."_ Parker was practically howling on the other end of the line. _"What's all of that noise?"_he asked through childish giggles.

"Uh, nothing. I just fell back to sleep, and you scared me and I dropped the phone. No big deal."

Then Parker heard his step-mom in the background, "That wasn't nothing. You kicked me!"

"_You're both grumpy this morning,"_ Parker said.

"Late night."

"_I asked you before, but you didn't hear me. Did you guys celebrate the New Year just a little too hard or something?"_

"No, nothing like that. Bones was going to cook for our two-month anniversary, but we got called away for a case. We were out at the scene until really late."

"_Bones was with you?"_

"Yeah. Not my call, but we needed her."

"_But she was safe right? It wasn't dangerous?"_ The concern in Parker's voice was practically palpable. Being ten, he knew enough about his father's job to know that there were always certain risks. Mostly, he tried not to think about those risks.

"No, we tried to make it as safe for her as possible. She had a wear a suit and everything. Now, she's only going to do some work in the lab, but that's it. After we're done with this case, she'll be done. We're not going to let her get too stressed."

"_This must be a big case to use her then, huh?"_

"Yeah, but you know I can't talk about it."

"_I know. I'm just making sure that everything is okay."_

"Thank you for caring to ask about her. I know you love her and only want her to be safe. Did you have a reason for calling?"

"_No, not really."_ Parker would wait to tell his dad about the strange army of babies dream. He didn't want his dad to worry, and he was fine now anyway._ "Just wanted to say I love you. And I love Bones, too. Can you tell her for me?"_

"Bones, Parker loves you."

Brennan smiled into her pillow

"Tell him I love him, too."

"She loves you back, buddy. Is that all?"

"_Yeah, be careful. I love you."_

"Have fun. Bye."

"_Bye, dad."_

Booth hung up the phone with a groan. "What time is it?"

"Too early."

"Smart ass. I'm being serious. I need to know."

"Look at your phone, Booth." Brennan thought for a second and giggled lightly. "Phone booth. That's funny."

"Hilarious. Time?"

"Look at your phone. My eyes are shut."

"And blind myself from an ungodly amount of light? No, no; I don't think so, baby. Just a little glance at the bedside table is all it takes."

"Same for you."

"It's on your side, Bones."

"Yes, but I'm facing you. I would have to turn over _and_ open my eyes to look. If turning over wasn't like maneuvering a semi-truck, then I would, Booth. Please just look for yourself and let me sleep."

"As much as I would love to let you sleep, you know that if I have to get up, so do you. We need to get to the lab to see what Hodgins has for us."

"Wouldn't he have called if he had something of significance?"

"No, I told him not to call. You need your sleep, especially if you're going to be in on this one."

"Would we be able to bring one of the barstools from our breakfast bar? It would be tall enough for me to sit in while on the platform and still be able to analyze the remains on the table and it's very cushioned. That would reduce a great deal of stress on my back and feet."

"Sure. Does the Jeffersonian not have anything like that?"

"Not that I know of. They have stools that aren't high enough and they are hard; that's why I asked."

Booth finally braved a glance at his bright phone display. "It's time to get up. Do you want to shower first or should I?"

"I will. It takes me forever to wake up without caffeine."

"I'll go wakeup Angela and start breakfast."

.

As the doors of the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab opened with a whoosh to let in Brennan, Booth and Angela, Booth called out to whoever was there on the holiday, "Happy New Year! What do you have for us?"

Hodgins and Cam looked up at the noisy entrance into the lab.

"Oh, hey guys. Morning already?" Cam asked.

"Is the body safe for Bones to be around?"

"Yes."

Upon Cam's confirmation, Brennan scanned her card and stepped up on the platform with Booth and Angela.

Angela immediately walked into his arms for a hug and kiss before getting into details. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yes. I stayed in one of the guest rooms at Brennan's house. I didn't want to drive home last night or be in that huge house alone."

"That's nice of them to let you stay."

Booth put Brennan's stool down on one side of the table so that she could view the remains. She promptly sat in the chair awaiting analysis.

"Okay, so that goop… it's a mixture of cationic polymers, copolymer, vinylpyrrolidone, methacrylamide and N-vinylimidazole. There's also trace elements of fragrance."

"So hair gel?" Booth asked.

Everyone turned in stunned silence toward Booth.

"What?" He shifted his feet and shrugged

"You understood that?" Cam asked.

"Not completely, but I know from my time working with Hodgins that polymers are usually binding agents of some kind and the fact that it was like a gel type goop on the body, combined with the fragrance… hair gel. I'm the son of a barber; it wasn't that far of a leap for me to make."

More stunned silence.

"Stop looking at me like that!"

"Dude, you're turning into a squint!" Hodgins said with excitement before getting back to business. "Okay, so there was hair gel and—"

"Wait. Why would someone put hair gel on a dead body?" Angela asked.

"We couldn't really figure that one out either," Cam answered, "but people do strange things with dead bodies hoping to cover themselves up. It's possible that they were trying to speed up decomposition with anything they could find."

"That alone suggests that it wasn't premeditated or the killer would have been more… prepared," Booth said, starting to put together a preliminary profile of the murderer in his own head, since Sweets was out of town with Daisy.

"It's also possible that they were trying to keep the body from stinking by coating it in the hair gel, but the gel and whatever else is on the body acted as a magnifier in the sunlight. So although it's nearly below freezing outside, the sunlight cooked the body. The smell of cooking flesh would attract any number of scavengers like cats, birds, rodents. The hair gel is non-toxic and wouldn't hurt anything; it would just taste bad."

"And hair gel wasn't the only thing on the body; the hair gel was just the top layer. The person that did this put all kinds of things on the victim. Mostly products you would find in a bathroom. Toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner…"

"Was someone trying to make this the _freshest_ dead body ever found?" Angela asked turning her nose up.

"There were several bathroom cleaning products as well. The environmentally friendly kind. It's possible that the killer was hoping some of this stuff would be corrosive enough to get rid of evidence or decompose the body quicker, but they didn't take into account that they were green products. I'm working on getting brands for all of this, but separating them all out has been difficult because of the number of products found. Fish oils were present as well; it seems likely that they may have dumped a few fish oil capsules on the body and then the sunlight and hair gel dissolved the capsules. That would certainly attract the cats even if the body wasn't being cooked my the sun."

"Why fish oil capsules? What would be the point in that?" Booth asked.

"We don't do the why, Booth. You know that," Brennan spoke up for the first time. She'd been silently analyzing what she was seeing on the body as she listened to Cam and Hodgins' findings.

"Like I said," Cam spoke, "people do strange things to dead bodies. The fish oil capsules could have just been something she had in her purse at the time of the murder."

"Anything else on the body?" Brennan asked.

"Not really," Hodgins answered. "I'm analyzing some particulates, pollen, and fibers found on the body. Still waiting on the results, but that could give us the crime scene."

"Anything on time of death?" Booth asked.

"Best intuitive leap… she's been dead between four and six days."

"Just from what I see, I agree," Brennan said, leaning over the body more. She still hadn't put on any gloves to touch the body. Parts of it were too fleshy and useless to her.

"Okay, I'm going to go to Bones' office and call Shaw to see what she has for me.," Booth took off down the stairs of the platform and jogged to Brennan's office. He looked at the closed door. "Bones! It's locked."

Brennan moved to get off of the stool to go unlock her office door.

"Bren, give me your keys; I'll do it. You just relax."

"Thanks, Ange." She handed over her keys, purse, and bag of snacks. "Could you put these in my office and bring my lab coat out here?"

"Sure thing, Sweetie."

"Is the body ready to be de-fleshed?" Brennan asked Cam.

"I've got all the samples I need to run tox-screens. I think there's been recent sexual activity, but I've removed samples of what was remaining of the vaginal tissues so that I can run tests on them and see if there's any traces of semen. Hodgins?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you have everything you need from the body?"

"Yes."

"It's all yours, Doctor Brennan."

"_Booth_," Brennan corrected. "Doctor Booth."

"Right. Sorry. Still not _completely_ used to you being married to Booth, much less that you decided to take his name."

"I'm not completely used to it either, but I know that I'm glad I did take his name. Yesterday was our two month anniversary."

"And you spent it at a crime scene?"

"At least we spent it _together_. We came very close to him just being gone all day and most of the night. We wouldn't have even seen each at all yesterday had Cullen not requested me."

"That is true. "Things are good between you?"

"Very."

"Good. Seeley deserves the best."

"I am the best."

"So humble, too. Would you like some help with the de-fleshing?"

"Yes, please. I promised Booth that I would take it easy."

"I could call Mr. Nigel-Murray in to work if you would like."

"No, that won't be necessary; I was called in to handle this for a reason."

"Well, if you change your mind—"

"I won't."

"But if you do…"

"I won't," she repeated then added, "but I'll let you know. Besides, you just agreed to help me and I really don't have the patience for any of the interns today."

"Bones!" Booth came jogging out of his wife's office. "You're off the case. Get your stuff; I'm taking you home."

"What? Why?" Brennan asked.

Cam, not wanting to be caught in the middle of anything stepped back as the agent approached the platform and scanned his card.

"Justice Flanagan didn't do this. He's been on Santorini for the past five weeks at his lavish and expensive Greek cliff-side villa. There's been no activity regarding his passport since his arrival there. So, he hasn't left that area."

"He could have easily paid someone to do it."

"Nope, no withdrawals big enough from any of his accounts and his financials are all in order. Nothing suspicious. Officials there have questioned him; his alibis have been verified, and he's on his way back here without having been asked to come back. Why would he come back from a place where we couldn't even legally touch him if he did it?"

"Good point, but why am I being taken off the case?"

"We only needed you because we thought Justice Flanagan was the victim, and we kept you after he became a suspect, and now that he is _neither_, there is no reason for you to work. I'm taking you home."

"No, you're not!" Brennan was fuming. "I'm finishing this case, Booth."

"No, you're not," Booth said, keeping his voice calm.

"Why not?" Brennan nearly yelled. She couldn't understand how he was still being so calm. Usually he would be just as passionate in their arguments, and the fact that he was staying calm to prevent her from getting more upset actually did the opposite because to her it seemed like he was just being nonchalant about her job. "It isn't like the body is toxic. I'm sitting down and I'm not stressed. It was quiet and peaceful in here until you came back out here and pissed me off."

Not wanting to get between them, but also needing to put her foot down somewhere, Cam spoke up.

"Seeley, let her have this one."

Booth looked at her like he'd just been stabbed in the back.

She continued, "Let her finish the case. Have you ever had something given to you and then taken away quickly? It would be a tease to just take her off of the case now and not let her finish. Besides, you're her partner, not her boss. _I am._ Technically, it's _my_ decision. I didn't like it that someone went over my head to put her on the case, and now that she's there, no one is taking her off."

"Thank you, Doctor Saroyan," Brennan said in relief. It wasn't everyday that she got to witness her boss go to bat for her, but when she did, it always gave her a new respect for the woman.

"Fine."

"You can trust her with me. I'll be here to monitor everything. And this killer was _far_ from smart, so this case isn't going to drag out for long, and you know it."

"Okay." He walked over to Bones with a contrite look on his face. "Sorry, I didn't realize that it would feel like a tease."

"How else was it suppose to feel to me? I love what we do. I haven't been able to work, and after this I won't be able to work until after the babies are born. I love my job, Booth, and I don't appreciate being told I can work and then the next second have it taken away."

"Baby, just promise me that you'll continue to take it easy. Rest when you need to."

"I will, but can you just _stop_ coddling me?"

"Bones…"

"…Booth."

"Hellooo," Cam interrupted. They both looked over to Cam. "Hi. Yeah, we're trying to solve a murder here. Did you have any more information for me, Seeley?"

Booth coughed and momentarily ignore his old friend and glanced back to Bones, "We good?"

"Yes," she replied with a genuine smile and Booth held his hand up for a fist bump; she rolled her eyes, but obliged. She turned back to her stool and perched herself on the seat and got back to work on the body.

"One of the neighbors' sons is missing everything out of his bathroom. Shaw said someone took everything out of the shower, medicine cabinet, and products from the cabinet from under the sink."

"That would explain everything found on the body," Cam said looking at her dear friend.

"I've got the names of the brands for Hodgins so that he can match the brands to everything found on the body for confirmation."

"Good," she took the list that he handed to her. "I'll give this to Hodgins."

"We've also got a possible murder weapon. Same neighbor had a narrow shovel in their shed. It'd been wiped clean recently. Shaw is on her way here with it. We need to get an ID on this girl ASAP. I need to go to the office for a few hours. I've got to make some calls and question the neighbors and their son when they're brought in. They also have a boatload of employees that work for them. My money is on one of the empl—"

"Your money shouldn't be anywhere, Booth."

Booth sighed, deciding to just leave the jab alone. "I'll get a list of names and start working on those guys."

"Do you think you will be available to go to lunch?"

"I don't think so, baby. There's too much to do. Cam?"

"Hmm?" Cam asked as she was lowering the severed head into the enzyme bath.

"You can take Bones for lunch, right?"

"You're coddling me again, Booth," she chastised. "I can manage to get lunch on my own."

"Oh, come on now, Doctor _Booth_," Cam made sure to emphasize the correct name with a smile, "We'll grab Angela and Hodgins and all go together."

"Fine. Can we get to work now?" Brennan de-gloved her hands to tell Booth bye first. "I love you. See you later."

He kissed her, ignoring the throat clearing of his wife's boss. She also said something that neither one of them heard.

"I love you, too, Bones." He gave her one last kiss before turning to the doors of the lab. "Call me when you've got something," he called out over his shoulder.

Brennan put fresh gloves on her hands and then turned to help her boss put the remaining body parts into the enzyme bath.

.

"Booth."

"_Hey, it's me, Bones."_

"I know who you are."

"_We have an ID for you. Her name is Hilary Lowell, age twenty. She's a student at Howard University. Honor student, member of Sigma Alpha Iota, and a few service and religious organizations."_

"Did you just say Howard University?"

"_Yes. Am I not speaking clearly enough?"_

"No, you are. It's just that one of the employees, uh Alexander Wilson, he works for the neighbors. He attends Howard University. I was just about to go in and talk to the neighbor's son, but it looks like I need to get this guy in here now."

"_You think the victim and the employee knew each other?"_

"I'd say it's probable that they knew each other. Howard isn't a _really_ big university. Total enrollment is just over ten thousand. And with all of the colleges in the DC area and the total number of students… Let's just say that if this _wasn't_ a murder investigation, it would be an extraordinary coincidence to find a girl who attends the same school as one of the employees when the campus is around twenty-five minutes away from the crime scene."

"_But it _is_ a murder investigation…"_

"Which is exactly why this isn't a coincidence. You don't just find the body of a girl in someone's backyard who attends the same college as an employee of the next door neighbor. Otherwise what other connection could she possibly have to that neighborhood?"

"_Right, but how do you know that he attends Howard University?"_

"FBI, Bones. It's in his file."

"_So, he has a record?"_

"Yeah, just petty stuff; minor in possession, speeding tickets, another possession charge, dumb kid crap," Booth said flipping the file closed once again. "Anything else for me? I need to get in there."

"_Yes. Hodgins is still running the mass spectrometer to match brands to the products used on the body, but the FBI techs got here a little while ago with the shovel. It was very easy to identify as the murder weapon. The curve of the metal is consistent with the clean cut of the cervical vertebrae, and there was trace amounts of blood that had been wiped around."_

"Is that it?"

"_Yes." _

"Okay, thanks, Bones. Love you."

"_Love you, too. Bye."_

"Bye."

Booth flipped his phone shut and flipped through the files, jotting down some notes really quick before opening his phone once again, not even waiting for a proper greeting before he barked orders.

"Shaw, I need you to pick up Alexander Wilson. His file says he goes by the name of Gordo… Yeah, he's an employee of the Monroes… I'm about to interview the son right now… Have him waiting when I'm done with this kid… Thanks."

Flipping his phone shut once again and placing it in his pocket, and ran to his office really quick to print the photos of the victim from her missing persons file before heading back to the interrogation room. He opened the door and walked in.

"Michael Monroe, I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth. How are you doing today?"

"Nervous." He sat still, not daring to move. The big agent was intimidating, even if Booth wasn't really trying to be.

"I understand. Someone was found murdered in your neighbor's yard, and now you're being questioned by the FBI. That's serious stuff. I can see where that would make you nervous." Booth took a seat to make himself less intimidating. "I'm just asking a few questions; you're not under arrest or anything. I just need to find out about your missing stuff and maybe a little bit about a few of your parents' employees, if that's alright."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know."

"That would be very appreciated, Michael. You've just turned eighteen, so you're young and may not be entirely aware of your rights. I must inform you that even though you are not under arrest, if you would like a lawyer present, you have that right and may request one."

"I don't need one. I didn't do anything wrong."

"Alright, let's get started. Do you know this girl?" Booth slid the photos of the victim across the table. He'd printed a few from the missing person's file off in his office.

Michael shifted his eyes from picture to picture of the girl. He narrowed his eyes, and Booth couldn't tell if it was because he knew her or if it was because he was trying to get a better look by squinting.

"No, I don't know her. Is this the girl they found dead?"

"I'm afraid so."

"That's terrible," Michael worked his hands together. It was evident that he was still nervous. "Why would anyone want to hurt her? She looks like a nice girl."

"That's what we're working to find out, Michael," Booth said. Booth kept his voice even and gentle. He could tell Michael was warming up to him a little bit. The more trust he could gain, the more he was likely to get out of him.

"What can you tell me about your missing stuff?"

"Just that whoever did it is retarded. Who takes someone's half-used hygiene products?"

"It is strange; isn't it? And they took everything in there, correct?"

"Yes. Everything."

"When did everything go missing?"

"Six days ago."

"So the day after Christmas? The twenty-sixth?"

"Yes." Then Michael looked like he wanted to say something, and finally decided to speak again, "I had been over at a friend's house earlier that morning. He wasn't home, so I wasn't there long. When I got home, I wanted to take a shower and get cleaned up. I had done a lot of running around. It was cold outside, but I still worked up quite a sweat. I found my bathroom… I wouldn't call it trashed, because there was nothing left in there. Everything was gone and my towels were on the floor. I figured maybe one of my old friends from school came over and played a prank or something."

"_Old_ friends?"

"Yeah, from when I attended public school. My mom started homeschooling me when I got into the ninth grade. Mister Flanagan helped me out sometimes."

"Are you still being homeschooled now?"

"Yes, sir. This is my last year."

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"And Justice Flanagan helped you with your homework?" Booth asked.

"Yes. I've known him since I was practically in diapers. His wife, used to babysit me before she died. She made the best molasses cookies. Mister Flanagan would always let me come over and use his pool and stuff. He's been like a surrogate grandparent to me at times. All of my biological grandparents are dead or have never been around much. And I think they liked having me around. They never had kids of their own."

"That was very nice of Justice Flanagan. He was a good old guy, huh?"

"Yeah. I admire him a lot. Wait… he's okay, right? I haven't seen him in a while. He's not involved is he?"

"No, he's fine. He's been at one of his vacation homes. He's on his way back to help out though."

"Oh, good."

"Michael, I also need to ask about a few of your parents' employees that work around your house. Can you think of any that stand out as odd or anybody who just doesn't seem right?"

"What, you mean like mentally handicapped or…"

"I mean _anything _that stands out. It could be that or personality quirks, smells, mannerisms, work ethic, punctuality… things like that."

"Our gardener, Daniel Porter, has Down's Syndrome, that's why I asked. I couldn't imagine him doing anything to that girl. He's very nice. Only works on the weekends and gets rides to and from here from his sister. She's his guardian."

"I don't think that's who I'm looking for either. Anything about anyone else?"

"There is one of the maids. Well, uh, actually, what do you call a maid that's a man?"

"Not important. Is there something strange about this guy?"

"You mean besides the fact that he's a guy doing what most would consider a woman's work? Yeah. He always smells like pot, he's always late, and he's rude."

"Okay, this sounds like something I could use. Do you have a name?"

"Gordo is what he goes by or that's what he told me to call him. I don't think that's his real name though. Dad calls him Alexander, and it always kind of makes him mad a little."

"How long has he worked for your parents?"

"A few years. He's paying for college. My parents pay all of the employees very well. He may have a real attitude problem, but he gets the job done regardless of when he gets there, and he does a good job or my dad would have fired him a long time ago."

"I think that's all I need, Michael," Booth said, standing up. Michael followed suit. "You've been a big help today," Booth gave him a warm handshake and a smile, continuing to build a good report with the kid. "Here's my card; if you think of anything else, please call me."

"I will."

"Your parents are waiting down the hall in the break room. There's some doughnuts in there if you want to grab some before you go. Or at least there should be; my wife isn't here to eat them all."

Booth opened the door and escorted the young man out toward the break room.

"Sir?" Shaw called upon seeing Booth in the hallway. Booth looked over to her. "The suspect is in interrogation three."

"Thanks, Shaw. Could you please show my friend, Michael, here, where the break room is? His parents are waiting in there for him. Then, I need you to get the information about the identity from my wife and inform the family. The file said that her parents live in China. It is likely you'll need a translator. You'll need to call Devon Jackson about that. Being that it's a holiday, he'll have to call someone in."

"Sure."

"Thanks."

Booth took his files and notes into the observation room to get a first look at the suspect. Cullen walked in, shortly afterwards, with another file in his hand.

"This kid's higher than a kite, Booth. Do you want to have him detox first? I'm leaving it up to you."

"Nah. I might be able to get more out of him like this. Besides, I'm not going to run the risk of him coming off of whatever he's on and needing even more time because he's having withdrawals."

"When they showed up at his place they found marijuana and other paraphenalia. No other drugs strong enough to cause withdrawals."

"Good. So he can actually be held on possession charges rather than letting him go after I question him?"

"Yes."

"Good, I think this is our guy. I just gotta make the connections."

Booth took his jacket off and set it on a chair in the observation room.

"You gonna stay and watch?" Booth asked Cullen.

"Ah, sure. Why not? Wear the earpiece."

Booth put the tiny bud in his ear, grabbed his files, and walked out of the observation room and into the interrogation room.

"Good afternoon, Alexander."

"It's Gordo," he automatically corrected Booth.

"Sorry. Let me start, again. Good afternoon, _Alexander_. I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth. When you're being interrogated in a _murder_ investigation, you do not get to choose what I call you. I am not a buddy of yours nor am I a friend. I'm an FBI agent and you are a _suspect_ whose legal name is Alexander. That is how I will address you. Do you understand?"

"Fine, but do you have to be a douche about it?"

Booth raised his eyebrows and was silent for a moment as he quickly formed a strategy in his mind. If this kid was high enough that he had the balls to call Booth a douche while being interrogated, then Booth could probably get anything out of him. The drugs had loosened his mind and his lips.

Booth chose not to reprimand him any further and let him feel comfortable with the fact that he'd just thrown an insult at an agent and got away with it.

"I need to ask you a few questions today. Could you tell me how old you are?"

"Twenty-two."

"Do you have any prior arrests?"

"Yes."

"Good, thank you for telling me the truth. These were all minor, correct?"

"Yes."

"And you've paid your fines and you are currently on probation?"

"Yes, sir."

"You had some drugs on you, when you were arrested; that's a violation of your probation. Are you high now?"

"How should I know?"

"Look up toward the light," Booth instructed.

Booth leaned over and looked at his pupils.

"Oh, yeah. Look at that. You're walkin' on the moon, aren't ya. How long ago did you smoke the weed?"

"I don't know. Maybe two hours ago. Or maybe right before that agent chick showed up. Whenever that was."

"Do you feel like you're able to understand and answer my questions right now to the best of your abilities?"

"I'm fine. I can answer you just fine."

"Good. I wouldn't want the drugs to influence you to tell me any false information. _That_ could really get you into some trouble. You cooperate with us today, and we might let the drug charges go, but that's if you give us something useful."

"I'll tell you anything you need to know."

Booth smiled. He'd gotten Gordo's trust and wondered how long it would last.

"Good. Do you attend school?"

"Most days. Some days, I don't exactly get my work done, so I don't go; and it depends on what class it is."

"What university?"

"Howard."

"That's a good school. What's your major?"

"Music composition."

"You write music. That's impressive. What are your grades like?"

"About average. I get 'A's in my music classes, and mostly 'C's in my academic classes, but that's because I don't like to do the homework. It's all busywork, ya know? I hate that kind of thing. I've got better things to do with my time than spend two hours conjugating fifty verbs for my Spanish class or doing twenty of the exact same type of problems for math. I get 'A's on my tests and stuff we do in class."

"What's someone as smart as you doing getting involved in drugs and cutting class? Isn't there a point where it's just easier to do the work?"

"The musician are all the same. You test any one of us from the music department and you'll find something. Weed mostly. And Most of the time when I skip class, it's because I work, write music, or practice piano. That's about the only thing I care about and the only thing I don't skip out on."

"Where do you work?"

"I get paid a bunch to do housework for a rich family."

"Okay, why do you do such average work in some things but so well in others?"

"I've found that consistently doing average stuff suits me because once you do something really well, people start to expect that all the time. Like with my music. It's expected of me, because it is something that actually holds my interest and so I do well with it all the time. That other crap is just stuff I'm taking because they make me. It doesn't interest me, so I don't care whether I make an 'A' or a 'C'. What's important is that my dad thinks that I'm doing my best on the other stuff. The way I see it is, passing is passing. I'll never let anything go so bad that I fail a class."

"'D' equals degree, right?"

"Exactly, but I've never made a 'D'. I've got mostly 'B's and 'C's and like I said, 'A's in my music classes."

"Do you have a lot of friends on campus?"

"I know a decent amount of students, mostly music students, though. The rest are just acquaintances."

"Are you in any social clubs, school organizations or anything like that?"

"I'm in Phi Mu Alpha. It's a music fraternity."

"A fraternity, huh?"

"Not _that_ kind of fraternity. It's more of a brotherhood fraternity. It's not one of those "pay thousands of dollars so you can have fake friends to party with" clubs."

"So they _don't_ throw parties."

"Well of course they do, but they don't throw massive house parties or anything like that. Mostly we just have joint parties with our sister music sorority, Sigma Alpha Iota. Mostly they are formal parties, not like parties seen on TV or anything."

_Bingo, baby! _

Booth heard his boss in his ear tell him, "That's the connection you're looking for. Good job. Dig a little more. Get him to tell if he knew the victim and how."

"Do you know any of the girls in the organization?"

"Of course. We're all music students. You have to be a music major in order to be accepted into the fraternity or sorority."

"Do you know how many music students there are?"

"There really aren't very many music students. There's about a hundred and twenty, total."

"So you're all pretty close? Right?"

"Yeah. We listen to each other practice, do performance classes where we critique each other; we have study groups for theory, form and analysis, music literature, music history… all of it. I'm usually in the music building when I don't have to work."

Booth opened a folder and took out some pictures and laid them out on the table.

"Would you happen to recognize this girl?" Booth asked.

He took in a deep breath and blinked a few times.

"That's Hilary."

"Is she a music student?"

"Yeah. Very talented soprano. She's the president of SAI."

Booth heard Cullen's voice again, "Booth, come to the observation room, please."

"I'll be right back. Here's a bottle of water, for you. Just relax for a few minutes."

Booth made his way to talk to his boss.

"You left your jacket and phone in here," Cullen started. "Your wife just called. Doctor Saroyan found semen and evidence of bruising on what was left of the vaginal wall. They've got enough for DNA..."

"Well, good thing he's drinking from the bottle of water then," Booth gestured toward the interrogation room.

"Not him. He's got prior arrests, which means he's in CODIS. They've already eliminated him."

"Great. Did they get a match for anyone?"

"No."

"Crap."

"Just go back in there and find out how well he knew the vic."

Booth looked in through the window, studying the kid. "Is he crying?"

When Gordo's head dropped down to the table and a fist pounded into the surface, Booth had his answer.

"I'd say he's just put together that if you're asking about her during a murder investigation that she's dead, and however they know each other… it looks like maybe they were really close," Cullen said.

Booth walked back and took a seat across from Gordo.

"You knew her well, I assume?"

"Yes. She's dead; isn't she?"

"I'm afraid so. When was the last time you saw her?"

"The morning after Christmas. She doesn't celebrate, but my family does. She stayed the night with me at my parents' house."

"Wow, so, uh, you were _really_ close?"

"She's my girlfriend—_was_ my girlfriend." He picked up a photograph of Hilary performing onstage in a long formal dress. It was hard for Booth to watch Gordo's face scrunch up in grief, but years of experience helped him keep his wits.

Booth's lips tightened into a thin line. "How long were you two together?"

"Almost three years."

Booth hated to ask this next question, but he needed to know. "Was there any indication that she was maybe cheating on you?"

"Why would you ask that?"

"We've found DNA evidence that suggests she'd been with someone, who isn't you, shortly before she died."

"Wait. How do you know it wasn't me? We had sex all the time! We had sex the morning of the day she disappeared."

"DNA, it wasn't yours. As someone who's been arrested we have your DNA on file for comparisons."

Booth could tell he was getting squirmy. He knew something, and Booth knew it. He decided to dig a little further.

"We don't know who it was, but the chances are, whoever had sex with her killed her, and we're going to do everything we can to find this guy."

Gordo looked as if he was working something over in his mind.

Booth asked one more time, "Are you _sure_, there's _never_ been _any_ indication that she was unfaithful to you?"

He took a deep breath, "Alright, yeah, but I love her you know. I don't want to believe it was true and I didn't want to tell you and have her good name ruined after her death."

"Can you tell me what you know?"

"One day, I pull into the driveway at the Monroe's. That's the family I work for. I got in the house and I heard her voice. She has a voice that carries. I thought that maybe she came there looking for me. She was expecting to get some news about an audition for a graduate school she wanted to get into, and I thought maybe she was looking for me to tell me good news. I listened for it and heard her voice again. She was talking to the bosses' son, Michael. They were talking as if they'd known each other for a while, but I didn't know how they would know each other at all! So, I hid, and they walked around the corner. Michael was dressed in swimming trunks and a t-shirt and had a towel wrapped around his neck. Hilary had some sweat pants and a sweat shirt on, but I could see the ties from her bikini top, and she had a towel, too. I followed them out of the house and over to the neighbor's house."

"Which neighbor?"

"I don't really know. All I know is that he's old and retired. He lives alone and he's gone a lot."

"What'd they do when they got there? Surely they didn't go swimming. It was the end of December."

"No, Michael had a key to a sun room where there was a hot tub."

Booth raised his gaze to the glass, and heard his boss' voice, "We'll get him back in here for DNA testing. Just continue the interrogation."

"Did you stay?"

"You mean did I watch my girlfriend with my bosses' son? Yeah. It was sickening. It tore me apart."

"So they did have sex."

"Yes, but I didn't let them finish. I barged in and caused a stink about it, and then I left. I was so worked up. I didn't even stay to do my job."

"What day did you say this happened?"

"It was the day after Christmas. I know that because I remember when I barged in I said, '_Merry fucking Christmas to me!'_ before I laid into them. If he killed her…" Gordo broke down before he could finish, and Booth figured he'd gotten enough for now.

He'd found out that Hilary was cheating on Gordo with Michael, which meant that Michael had lied while he was being questioned. Gordo was pretty much high on truth juice and revealed more than Booth had expected to get out of him. He also learned that Gordo was one of the last people to see her alive, but then again, so was Michael. The question was which of them was the very last.

"Alright, we're done here. _Unfortunately_," Booth said, not really meaning it, "We have to hold you for possession and a violation of your probation. I said we'd cut a deal with you to clear that if what you gave us turns out to be helpful. I'll keep my word. Just sit tight, and someone will come in to move you to holding."

He didn't say anything in response, but just sat there and continued to cry.

* * *

**Let me know what you think. :) Who do you think killed Hilary?  
**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	59. Pissing It All Away

**Bringing this case to a close. Let's see who was right in their guesses.**

* * *

"How did it go?" Brennan asked when her husband walked into her office and plopped down on her couch. He tossed his head back and laid his forearm over his forehead.

"You know, I'm not sure what to think right now. Michael is being brought back in for more questioning after he lied to me about knowing the victim. Legally, I'll have a twenty-four hour window before he has to be questioned, so I'm going to use some of that time to hold him overnight, first. Make him sweat a little for lying to me."

"So you've made a lot of progress?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't have if you didn't call with the little detail about the semen. The victim was cheating on her boyfriend with his bosses' son. Gordo, who works for Michael's parents as a housekeeper followed them to the Flanagan's sunroom where the two of them were…"

"…Having sex."

"In the hot tub, yeah. He said that he confronted them and then left them there. Said he didn't even bother showing his face in the house for his shift."

"I will need Michael's DNA as soon as he's brought in so that I can get a definitive match on the semen."

"Okay, and I just sent Hodgins out to Flanagan's sunroom to see if he can find anything there. The techs did not have access to that area of the property last night."

"Booth Hodgins hasn't slept since…"

"I know. I told him to get samples and then go home. He can let his computers run analysis-es while he's at home."

"Analys_es_," she corrected automatically. "And don't you need a warrant to search?"

"Nope. Flanagan gave us full permission to access anything on his property that will help solve this. He's getting back into town really late tonight. I'll question him in the morning."

"Both of these suspects had plenty of motives, Booth." Brennan said to her husband.

He sighed in frustration. "I know it. We'll figure it out though." A few seconds passed as Brennan signed a few pages in an open file on her desk. "Are you about ready to go home?"

"What? It's only four-thirty!"

"Right, and I am done for the day." Booth stood from the couch and walked over to her desk. "There's nothing I can really get done until Justice Flanagan gets back and they bring in Michael. There's nothing more for you to do. Everything else is Hodgins' and Cam's specialties. Let's go home, relax and get some dinner."

"Not in that order, I hope. I'm starving," she stood.

"Hey, I didn't even get lunch today. At least you all went out for lunch right?"

"Yes, but that was four hours ago and I'm expending all of my taken in energy and nutrients on the babies. I feel like I hardly benefit myself from eating anymore. Everything I take in goes straight to them." She pointed to her belly as she rounded the corner of her desk.

"You've taken your meds and checked your blood sugar?"

He tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned in for a kiss.

"Yes. Like clockwork. Everything is fine. I'm just exhausted." Then, she made an admission that he knew cost her, "While I'm glad to be on this case, I'm glad it is just one case. I don't know that I would have the energy to do anything more than this one and all I've done is sit on my ass all day, Booth." She laughed at herself a little.

He smiled at her happily, "I know you don't like to just sit around and do nothing."

"No, I don't."

"You could work on fixing your novel. I know I've given you a few ideas on how to fix it," he said suggestively with a wink. "We could work more on that tonight, if you're not too tired."

"Maybe… Booth?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you, for not making me go home this morning. I think that if you had, I wouldn't have seen for myself how hard this would be on me and then I would have maybe… resented you a little for it."

"We can't have that, can we, babies," Booth rubbed his hand possessively over her stomach. "Mommy and daddy don't need to resent each other," he said staring into Brennan's eyes. "Mommy will always talk to daddy when she feels like she is compromising too much of herself, right Bones?"

"Of course." She rested her head on his shoulder and they swayed together for a few moments before moving apart to gather Brennan's things to leave for the night.

.

Brennan set her bags by the door after walking in their home, behind her husband.

"How about I make us some of Pops' famous grilled cheese?"

"That sounds really good," Brennan replied, pulling her shoes off and walking back into their bedroom where she could change into something more comfortable.

Booth had just taken his tie off and his dress shirt and draped them over the back of the couch. He set his shoes on the floor next to the couch and loosened the buckle on his belt, before heading into the kitchen to get started on their dinner.

Brennan was very fond of the sight of her half-undressed husband standing in the kitchen when she walked back in. She stood in the doorway and took the time to observe his movements.

"You are very sexy, Booth," Brennan breathed silkily.

Booth turned to see her eyes darken as he exposed his chest to her view.

"I've never heard you come out and just say it like that, Bones. Usually, you find a much more subtle and squinty way to say it." He smiled, thinking of his perfect acromion, and prominent brow and mandible.

"I could take it back and make you decipher my meaning, if you want," she told him quickly.

He stopped buttering the bread. "No, I liked the straight forward compliment, Bones. It was nice, but don't feel like you have to change what you say or do because of me. While I like that I didn't have to go Google something to find out what you were telling me, I also like it when I have to." He shrugged and went back to buttering the bread. "It's part of your charm."

His truthful comment caused her cheeks to flush. She walked over behind him as he stood there preparing the bread. She kissed his skin between his shoulder blades with light caresses of her lips, occasionally dropping a hot opened mouth kiss. She wrapped her arms around his waist and then just draped herself around him as she laid her cheek on his left shoulder blade.

She stood there attached to him for a few minutes before Booth needed to move to get the cheese and put the sandwiches together on the griddle surface.

"Baby, you should go relax while I finish this. It won't be long," he turned in her arms and lifted her head from where it now rested on his chest, by using two fingers to lift her chin up. He kissed her forehead and then her mouth, "Go relax."

"I'm perfectly relaxed where I'm at," she snuggled in deeper.

"Baby, I can't make the sandwiches with you attached to me like this, and you are not relaxed. I can feel the tension in your back," he rubbed the affected area with his hands, and her grunts of approval proved his point. "Go lay on the couch or in bed. I'll bring it to you when it's done."

.

After demolishing the two grilled cheese sandwiches Booth made for her, Brennan placed her plate on the bedside table and turned onto her side and scooted down in the bed a little so that she was resting comfortably while she watched her husband finish off his last sandwich.

"That was very good, Booth. Thank you."

"No problem, Babe. It was quick and easy." He stuffed his last bite in his mouth and while still chewing, he asked, "Would you like to watch a movie?"

"Yes."

"We could watch one of those Disney movies from that box of DVDs that Angela left over here in the man cave or you could choose one of Parker's."

She picked her plate up off the nightstand.

"I'll go pick one out while you take these back to the kitchen. Also, would you mind bringing me a bowl of chocolate ice cream? And I don't mean like the amount of ice cream that you would give Parker. Fix it like you were making it for yourself."

"Bones, your blood sugar…" he started to protest.

"…Has been fine. I want ice cream. It is fine for me to have a treat every now and then. I don't do it often."

Booth thought for a moment before deciding that one bowl wouldn't hurt. She was correct in that she didn't indulge very often.

"Okay, two giant bowls of chocolate ice cream coming right up."

.

Hodgins had just arrive at the lab and as he was walking over to the stairs to go up to the area where they kept the coffee, he heard a beautiful melody slightly echo throughout the still mostly quiet lab.

"Doctor B., are you humming?" Hodgins walked into Brennan's office to investigate the beautiful melody he was hearing.

"Hm?" She asked looking up from her paperwork on her desk.

"_A Whole New World?_ You're humming a song from _Aladdin_, right?""

"Was I?"

"Definitely."

"We watched it last night before bed. The song must be stuck in my head. I didn't even realize that I was humming."

"Don't stop on my account. I'm sure the little ones like hearing their mom's beautiful voice."

Brennan blushed at the compliment and hung her head a little to hide it. "Thank you. Uh, did you get samples from the sunroom like Booth asked?"

"Yes. I ran the samples overnight. I just got here a few minutes ago. I'm about to go check it out and see what the computers came up with and get Cam's findings on the DNA. I'll call Booth with the details."

"He may or may not already be in the interrogation room, so hurry with the information so you can catch him if he isn't in there yet."

"Sure thing, Doctor B."

.

Booth made a quick visit to his office where he was making notes for himself before he went back in to question Michael.

Charlie knocked on his door and introduced Justice Edward Flanagan before taking his leave.

"Thank you so much for flying back into the states, Sir. Have a seat," Booth told the man after standing and greeting him.

"Anything I can do to help. This girl deserves justice. I spent my whole life working to keep the justice system honest; I feel terrible for this girl and her family. And to have the crime happen on my property…" he shook his head in shock and disbelief.

"We're going to figure this out. I have a couple of suspects in custody. I just need to ask you a few questions to corroborate a few things, and then you'll be on your way."

"Sure," the old man propped his cane up against the extra chair next to him and relaxed a bit.

"Please state your relationship with Michael Monroe."

"He's my neighbors' son. Very bright young man. I tutor him often, or at least when I'm home, I do."

"And you give him free access to your pool and hot tub while you're home?" Booth asked, getting the answer he was looking for.

"When I'm away as well. I gave him a key to the side gate and to the sunroom where he can have access to the hot tub. He's a very responsible young man. He always cleans up after himself and puts everything back."

"To your knowledge does Michael have a girlfriend?"

"Yes, a pretty little Asian girl. I don't know her name though, sorry."

"No, that's okay. Is this her," he held up a picture of Hilary Lowell.

"Yes, that's her. Is that the girl that was killed?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Such a shame. Beautiful young lady."

Booth put the picture back into the file.

"Did he ever bring her over to your pool or hot tub?"

"A few times to the pool. She had a beautiful voice, too. She was always singing when they were swimming. Michael really seemed to enjoy it."

"What about the hot tub?"

"I don't think he ever brought her over for the hot tub; not while I was home, at least. Is Michael in trouble?"

"I can't answer that, but I will tell you that we are working to verify the validity of his statement that he gave us yesterday." _Or expose the lies_, Booth added in his head.

"Have you ever met the Monroe's housekeeper, Alexander Wilson?"

"That's Gordo, right?" Booth nodded. "Not really, I've seen him around. Michael talked about him some, but I don't know anything about him other than he always looks high. Sorry I can't give you anything more than that."

"Don't apologize. You can only say what you know. You've been a bigger help here this morning that you probably realize. Thank you, very much, for coming in to see me this morning. Here's my card. If you think of anything else you can tell me, just give me a call."

"Okay, I certainly will." The old man stood up, and Booth walked to the door to open it up for him. He caught Charlie walking by as he did, "Hey, Charlie. You busy?"

"No sir, on my way to get coffee."

"Would you mind escorting our good friend, here, back down to the lobby?"

"No problem. I believe Agent Shaw was looking for you a few minutes ago. She said she tried your phone."

"It's been on silent since around eleven. I'll give her a call. Thanks again, Sir, for coming in this morning."

"You just get this girl some justice, Agent Booth."

Booth went back into his office. It was already nearing noon and he was running later with everything than he intended, but he needed his notes to be flawless so that he didn't miss anything. He took his time, knowing that it mattered more to be late, organized and prepared rather than sloppy and on time. Caroline would slaughter him if everything wasn't airtight.

As a result, he'd let a few other agents use his timeslots for the interrogation rooms in swap for the later ones.

He bowed his head in frustration when there was a knock on his door.

"Yes? Come in."

Agent Ginny Shaw entered the office with a file. "Sir, last night, I was trying to contact the family in China, but then it occurred to me, why would her name be so American if she was from China? So I looked into it. Sir, she was married."

"She was _what_!" Booth stood up. "The victim was _married_, and _I_ didn't know about it?"

He slammed his hand down onto his desk causing things on his desk to rattle and the head on his Bobblehead Bobby to bobble.

"Shaw, you've got to tell me these things! I've been busy dealing with lying rich brats and stoner musicians. I didn't have the amount of time I would have liked to in order to view her file. That was your job."

Booth was impressed when she didn't bat an eye at his abrasiveness.

"I'm sorry. I did try to reach you this morning. Anyway, she was married and she changed her legal name. She was born Yang-Lin Chui. She married Taylor Lowell five years ago, and as far as I can tell, it was a green card marriage. They don't have any joint accounts for anything. He lives in DC, but nowhere near where the she did. It is unclear just how much contact the two of them have maintained."

"Bring him in. I don't think he has anything to do with this, but I need to absolutely rule it out, or a lawyer could rip apart the case if I leave this stone unturned." Booth sighed. "You notified the family, correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good work. Next time you uncover something like this, you call me. I don't care if it's three in the morning. It may not have any real significance in the case, but you never know."

"Yes, Sir."

"Could you call down to holding and have them put Alexander Wilson in interrogation room one and Michael Monroe in interrogation room two, please."

"Yes, Sir."

"Please, just call me Booth. Stop with the _Sir_ crap."

"Okay Sss—Booth."

As she was walking out of his office, his phone rang.

"Jesus, what now?" he muttered under his breath before answering.

"What do you have for me, Hodgins?"

"_Uh, hello to you, too."_

"I don't have much time. I've got two suspects waiting on me."

"_So, let them wait. They're suspects, not the Pope."_

"Hodgins…" Booth warned.

"_Okay, okay. Michael's DNA is a match with the semen found on the victim."_

"Anything else?"

"_Fingerprints, blood spatter from all three people and particulates show that both suspects were present at one point in time in the sunroom. It appears they got into a fight."_

"Hm. Neither of them had any visible bruising on their faces. It couldn't have been much of a fight."

"_Also we found traces of the same green cleaning products that were on the body. It appears they were used to clean up the scene."_

"I think it's very safe to say that one of these guys is the murderer. They're really the only ones who had access to Michael's bathroom, but that's something we already knew. Is that it?"

"_Yep."_

"Thanks." Booth hung up and walked into interrogation room two.

"Michael Monroe, I hope you had a _pleasant_ night down in holding," Booth said as he swung the door open.

"I thought you said I wasn't in any trouble."

"You weren't, until I found out _you_ lied to me," Booth said pointing his finger at the boy.

"I didn't lie," Michael denied.

"I have two other witness accounts that check out with each other. That tells me you were lying."

"What about what I said was a lie, Agent Booth?"

"You didn't go to a friend's house that day… You knew the victim… Tell me when I can quit… How about your sexual relationship with the victim… The key to Justice Flanagan's sunroom… I can keep going if you would like… oh, here's a good one; You had sex with Hilary Lowell in the hot tub in the sunroom the day she died. That doesn't look good at all, Michael."

"Fine, _fine!_ Just stop, okay!"

Booth stood and removed his jacket, exposing his shoulder holster and the gun it held. He draped his jacket over the back of the chair and then sat back down.

"There's a whole lot you failed to tell me, Michael. Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't exactly lie about _everything_. Mr. Flanagan was a friend, I went to his house and he wasn't home. I didn't lie about that."

"But it wasn't the _whole truth_."

"I was afraid, okay. You sleep with a murder victim, and that makes you a suspect; I didn't want that."

"And lying to the FBI didn't make you look guilty? Why would you lie if you didn't have anything to hide?"

"I was scared. Look, I loved her. I didn't want her dead and I didn't kill her!"

"Do you know what is simultaneously making you a suspect and saving your ass right now? DNA. Obviously, Hilary's DNA was everywhere and your semen was found, as well as blood splattered around the room. But the presence of a third person's DNA… Well, for that reason alone a jury would never convict you of murder because they could never be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that you'd committed the murder. Who was that third person, Michael?"

Booth gave away nothing he already knew, in hopes of getting more information.

Michael bit his bottom lip and shifted his eyes down to Booth's gun and then back up to his face.

Booth's face softened just a little. "Look, you lied to me and I know you're scared, but you _have_ to tell me the truth here. You're a good kid, with good people influencing you. I don't think you did this, but you know what happened. You need to tell me. Who was the other person in the sunroom that day, Michael?"

"Gordo."

"Do you know why he was there?"

"Hilary was his girlfriend, but she didn't love him. She told me that she tried to break up with him, but he wouldn't leave her alone."

"How do you think he found out about the two of you going behind his back?"

"I don't know. I suppose it was about the time he usually showed up to clean. I guess he followed us from the house to Mr. Flanagan's sunroom. Then, the pervert watched us for a long time before he burst in there, yelling, and he grabbed me out of the water and hit—he hit me…"

Now that Booth knew what he was looking for, he could tell that Michael's face did still have some swelling around his nose, jaw and lips.

"Hilary was screaming at him to stop. I hit him back once though, right in the nose, and then I ran while he was holding his face in pain. I ran and I didn't look back."

"You ran."

"Yes. Gordo, is older and bigger than me. I didn't stand a chance against him."

"And Hilary?" Booth asked.

"I don't know. That was the last time I ever saw her."

"Where did you run to?"

"The park two blocks down the street. I jogged around the track a little bit to work off the adrenaline."

"How long were you there?"

"An hour, then I went home to take a shower, but all of my stuff was gone."

"I have one last question. Were you aware that Hilary was married?"

"Yes. She told me."

"What can you tell me about that?"

"She married some guy she met at a bar her freshman year because she didn't know if she was going to be able to afford to stay at her school. If she wasn't in school, then she wouldn't be allowed to stay in the US on a school VISA. So she married that guy for a green card, and she was then able to get a better paying job and stay in school. She hasn't had contact with the guy in years."

"Thank you, Michael. You hang tight in here for a little bit, okay."

.

Booth made a call to Agent Shaw before he went into the other interrogation room to let her know that it was probably not going to be necessary to bring in Hilary's husband for anything other than to alert him of her death and that she could take care of that herself as well as get a confirmation that they had not had any contact in a few years.

He then called his boss to let him know that he was about to get a confession in interrogation room one, if he would like to watch. He waited a few minutes for Cullen to come down from his office before entering the room.

"_Alexander_, you should know that I _really_ hate being lied to," Booth said upon entering interrogation room one.

He sat down and exposed his gun.

"What _really_ happened when you went into that sunroom?"

"What do you mean? I yelled at them… and stuff and then I left."

"Oh, _and stuff_, huh? Is that the part where you beat up on Michael and he ran out after he hit you in the nose? Here's the thing, Alexander, we know you two fought. Both of your DNAs were found in the sunroom to prove that. You say you left and didn't even show your face for your shift, but I'm thinking you killed Hilary first, deal with clean up, and then you left. I mean, who would want to go to work after they've killed someone and cleaned up after it, right? Is that a part of your _and stuff_, too?"

Booth didn't give him time to answer.

"I'm curious, when did you go into Michael's bathroom and grab all of his bathroom products and dump it all over the body? After he ran away, I'm guessing. I'm also dying to know, when did you cut her head off with the shovel from the Monroe's shed? She must have been dead before you chopped her head off, right? So what'd you do, kill her in the sunroom? Then, you needed to hide it somehow or frame someone else? Oh, who better than the kid who was screwing her, and you basically had access to anything of his that you wanted, right? It would have been easy for you to frame him for the whole mess."

"Stop! I didn't mean to!"

"What was that?"

"It was an accident. I didn't want to hurt her. I was mad and angry, yes, but I didn't want to hurt her!"

"What happened, _Gordo_?"

He took a deep breath. "After Michael ran, Hilary slapped me. I pushed her away from me. I didn't know I pushed her _that_ hard. She slipped on the wet tile and she hit her head… so much blood…"

He trailed off in tears and took a moment before speaking again.

"She wasn't breathing, and she was bleeding a lot. I didn't know what to do, so I cleaned it up." Another deep breath, "I dragged her out into the garden in the back. I was going to bury her there. I didn't think anyone would find it for awhile. It's winter; no one plants stuff in the winter, and the old man is always gone. Then, I went to get a shovel from the shed. It was the only place I knew I could get one, short of going to buy one. Then, I…She was already dead and I was… _so mad_ at her. I chopped her head off. I was only going to bury her; I wasn't going to do that. It just happened. After that, I knew that I couldn't stand there and dig a hole big enough and deep enough for her body."

"So…"

"When I had gone to get cleaning supplies, I just grabbed everything. I wasn't thinking. I figured I would sort it all out after I got back over to the yard. I just didn't want to get caught in Michael's bathroom when I had no intention of being seen around there for the rest of the day. It was quicker to grab everything. And after I realized that I couldn't bury her, I just dumped it all on the body. I don't know. I panicked."

Booth knocked twice on the table in front of him and stood, not saying another word and looking to the window as he heard Cullen congratulate him in his ear. He walked out to go start the paperwork and call his wife with the news.

.

Later that night at the Founding Fathers, the team all sat around a table with their usual celebratory drinks, Brennan with sparkling water and the occasional scotch, tequila and lime flavored kisses.

They were all tired but in good humor and their conversations varied all around.

Booth was quiet for the most part, except when he kept apologizing to Angela for never actually needing her for much, but she brushed it off saying that she had the more important job of keeping Brennan company while she waited in the SUV for Booth to get done at the crime scene and then she kept an eye on Brennan while she napped on the couch in the artist's office on occasion.

In her book, any day where she wasn't needed to do a reconstruction of a dead person's face was a good day for her. She'd mostly done some painting in her office while her friend slept in there.

Booth hadn't done much drinking at all while Brennan had been pregnant, but tonight he made an exception. He didn't do it often, because he felt it was unfair to his wife, who likes their after case drinks as much as he does.

But in his silence he drank a lot, smiling and nodding in all the right places, but not really present in all capacities. Something was bothering him, Brennan was sure. She saw it in his eyes and felt it in his kisses and his tension in his body.

Brennan ended up having to drive home, and when they arrived home, Booth was already asleep.

She shook him awake, gently, and he woke up enough to walk inside and head to the bathroom before getting into bed, still nearly fully clothed. He'd managed to get his jacket, shoes and one sock off. His tie was loose and his belt buckle undone, but not removed.

Brennan walked into their room after having taken care of her pre-sleep routine and nightly meds and saw his sleeping form on their bed.

She gave a crooked smile and muttered under her breath, "It should be me who is so tired that I don't make it all the way out of my clothes before falling asleep, not you."

She removed his other sock and tossed it on the floor next to the other one and proceeded to undress him down to his boxers.

She laid down next to him and pulled the covers over both of them before yelping when his fingers tickled the bare skin on her side.

"A sneak attack is more effective if you _think_ I'm asleep." He brought his strong body over hers and crashed his mouth to hers harder than he'd really intended to, but he was still intoxicated.

She could taste the scotch on his lips, and if it weren't for _his_ taste being present as well, she would have reeled back in distaste.

He nearly rolled himself off of the bed when he got tired of holding himself up and rolled them over; that's when she did reel back away from him.

"Booth, you're drunk. You're going to hurt yourself and you'd never forgive yourself if you ended up hurting me."

"I'm _fine_; I don't feel anything."

"That's the problem, but you will in the morning," she dodged his mouth again. "Why'd you drink so much anyway?"

"Kids these days are so dumb. I mean, they can be the so smart and should be at the top of their class and they just piss it all away. And for what?"

Brennan was unsure if that was the answer to the question she'd asked and she didn't know if that was a rhetorical question, but she didn't get the chance to answer before Booth started back up again.

"Michael is mostly a good kid who was just scared, but he lied. He is going to get jail time. Not much, but he's going to get time, probation and it will be on his record. Then, you have someone as talented and smart as Gordo. Prior arrests, drugs, horrible grades… He only did what was necessary unless it involved his music. And let me tell you, today, I heard his audition tape for graduate school that he was planning to send to Julliard, Boston Conservatory of Music, the Eastman School of Music and few of the other top music schools. He was very talented and had a chance at _any_ of those schools. And who knows what his future held for him, ya know? But _now_, his future… prison for the foreseeable future."

Booth stopped and closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Brennan actually thought that he was done, but was surprised when Booth started talking once more, in a softer slower tone.

"Parker's going to be their age before I know it, and he's going to make dumb decisions and do dumb kid shit, sure; we all do. I just hope he doesn't blow everything and every chance he has to be someone so wonderful and talented and smart. And not just Parker, but the twins, too. Parker, Joey and Jake are our lives. I don't want it all to be squandered away by some dumb kid mistake or being so scared that they don't know what to do."

Brennan didn't know what to say. She hadn't really seen her husband much over the last two days other than yesterday evening. She had no idea that his case had affected him this much. The first indication of anything being wrong was his unusual quietness at the Founding Fathers. He just laid there and she could tell that he was upset. He wasn't crying and he was obviously no longer in a drunken frisky mood.

"Our kids will make mistakes," she said, when it was clear that he wasn't going to say any more. "Some bigger than others. Someone I know," she tapped his chest, knowing that he would know she was talking about him, "taught me that in life, we take certain risks because the outcome, when good, far outweighs the bad. I didn't want children. Do you remember?"

He didn't answer, but she knew he was listening and that he did remember.

"I didn't want kids because I didn't want to bring a child into this world, knowing how cruel life can be and how hateful human beings can be to each other and I was afraid that I would do something to mess up the child's life. My parents did not start a family and have me and Russ, knowing that they were going to leave us behind. They couldn't have known that."

She took a risk, and continued with her next thought, knowing that it could backfire on her.

"Your mom didn't enter into a relationship with your dad, knowing that he would become an abusive drunk and beat her and her kids. She didn't know that you would eventually end up in Hank's care and that if it weren't for him you'd…" She couldn't finish the statement. He knew where she was going with that.

She watched for signs that he was withdrawing from her and saw none.

"Even through the bad of our own childhoods, we've come out on top, and we've made good for ourselves. We don't know what is in store for us or our children, Booth, but the good far outweighs the risks and potential problems. We have a lot going for us. We're not criminals and we're good people, with good morals, who fight crime and put away bad people. I don't see much potential for things going wrong there, Booth."

Oh, but in her head, she could never ignore the danger their jobs held, but she didn't voice that right now. He didn't need to hear it.

He knew.

He sighed and burrowed his face into her hair and nuzzled her neck. He said nothing else and she didn't feel the need to either.

All she knew to do was hold him closely as his mind wound down for the night and he fell asleep.

* * *

**Please let me know what you thought of the case. I don't do many cases because the amount of work is frustrating to such a lazy soul, such as mine. But when I do them, I want them to be good and I'd like to know your opinions. :) I value them, dearly.**

**Also, I'm currently beta-ing for a wonderful first time fanfic writer, underthehorizen. You should check out her fic, "The Domino Effect". It's rated M and the sizzling first chapter certainly knocked Booth's socks off, and I imagine it would yours as well. Give it a chance. I think you'll love it. I certainly do, and that's only the first chapter. Make sure to let her know what you think.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	60. What Goes Around, Comes Around

The week following the case had been very quiet for the whole team, and especially Booth and Brennan.

Brennan stayed home, relaxing most of the day, each day, and resumed watching General Hospital since they were no longer showing reruns for the holidays. She did little things to get the nursery ready to paint. She taped around the windows, ceiling, and carpet. Booth was not pleased that she'd gotten up on a ladder to tape around the ceiling and top of the windows, but knew to leave the subject alone. What was done was done, but he knew to hide the paint from her until he was around to help her.

It had taken a few days for Booth to get out of the funk that the case left him in. He had spent a great deal of time out in the garage working on his car and in his office doing paperwork over their last case and waiting by his phone for another case that needed him and his squints. He'd ended up coming home early most days, finding Brennan asleep on the couch as she developed the habit of taking a late afternoon nap.

Mostly, things were boring around there without Parker to liven things up a little bit.

Booth and Brennan found themselves enjoying the peace and quiet, but really anticipating his return as well.

Max had promised that he would bring Parker back from Russ' on Thursday so that Parker could relax at home for a few days and get ready to go back to school the following week.

After talking on the phone several times with Parker, Booth and Brennan agreed that this had been an eye opening experience for him and it was very good that he had the chance to do so before the babies were born. They were both sure that the experience with his baby cousin would help Parker transition into brotherhood much easier than if two babies were just shoved into his life.

He'd had the chance to hold, feed, burp, rock to sleep, change and bathe a baby now, all on top of trying to sleep through the cries at night, after being told that Russ and Amy would take care of the nighttime stuff. Russ had even told them that Parker had learned very fast, jumped at every opportunity he wanted, and became a little pro at getting things done, even after his strange nightmare.

When Thursday afternoon rolled around, both Booth and Brennan were antsy for his return. Booth was able to come home early because things were slow at the office and they didn't have a case to work on. When he walked in the door, he expected Brennan to be sitting on the couch watching General Hospital, as that was what she usually did around this time.

He called out for her several times, but eventually found her in one of the guest rooms, wearing only a sweatshirt and panties, blasting Foreigner and unpacking some boxes of her artifacts to put on the decorative shelves in the room.

"Hey! I was listening to that," she turned around with a frown when Booth turned the volume down.

"What are you doing in here? I said I would help with these things." He walked over to her and put his arms around her and rested his hands on her lower back, which he knew had been problematic for her lately. He massaged the area lightly and planted a kiss on her lips in greeting as he always did after coming home from work.

"I know, but I just want to get it done. I was going to start putting paint on the walls in the nursery, but I didn't want to do that alone. You hid the paint anyway…" Brennan's tone said she clearly had a strong disapproval of that fact. "This, I don't mind doing alone. I just needed to do something."

He kissed her again and ran his hands lower to her panty-clad rear and gave a light squeeze.

"Want some help, now?"

"Sure."

Neither moved out of the embrace and she raised up to meet his lips as she kissed him this time.

"What happened to watching TV? General Hospital is on," he asked, out of curiosity.

"Booth, do not even get me started on _that _show." She moved out of his arms and started working on pulling things out of the box again.

He didn't have to get her started on that show, she continued on her own anyway, detailing every single reason she was fed up with it already.

"In the two weeks that I've watched that show, absolutely _nothing_ has happened. _Nothing!_ The storylines have not moved forward and the only thing that's really happened is adding more problems without resolutions. Really, Booth; how do people watch that crap, day-in and day-out? And they say the same things over and over again so that if you watched once a week you'd be completely caught up with that one viewing, so you hear the same thing for several episodes. It's ridiculous. Or how about the fact that the characters say the full names of other characters most of the time when _all _of the characters know the others. It's more redundant and repetitive than educational children's shows. I'm done with it."

By time she was done with her rant, she'd cleared the box of stuff she was unpacking and had all of the breakables set out in the bed and she started working on unwrapping the protective paper from them. Booth joined in to help her.

"You know, Bones, when you first started watching that crap, I didn't say anything, but I knew it wouldn't last long. My mom used to have the same complaints, but for some reason, she'd just keep watching. I think that it was the only thing she really had during the day. It made me wonder why you would want to start watching something like that."

"Excess levels of hCG, HPL, estrogen and progesterone," was all she offered in explanation and that was that. "But now, I've decided that anytime I feel like I want to watch something, instead of turning the TV on, I'm going to watch one of Angela's or Parker's Disney movies. They'll be of much more use to me than daytime dramas."

"That's a good idea. I know we've been working on watching them some, but I really think it'll be good for you to watch the things that our kids will be interested in."

Booth took the replica of whatever artifact he was holding and asked her where she wanted it.

"Just put it anywhere for now, and if it doesn't look right with other stuff around it, we'll move it later."

"Right here?"

"Sure."

"When is Parker supposed to be back?" Booth asked, knowing that she'd probably talked to her father at one point in time earlier today.

"Dad said before dinner."

"Good. I came home early because I'm so excited that I couldn't even concentrate on the little work I did have today," after a few seconds he added, "and to see if my wife wanted to take advantage of our last child free hours."

Brennan set down a small jade sculpture she was hold onto the bureau.

"She'd be crazy to not take that offer. Where?"

"Bedroom. We don't know when they'll be back and I'm not taking any risks of your father or my son finding us in the throes of passion somewhere else in this house. Parker would recover, but Max will kill me!"

Brennan laughed at his dramatics. "Booth, I'm thirty-five; we're married. I'm pregnant. We've talked about this before. He knows we have sex."

"I know that, but you're still his daughter. He knows, but he isn't going to want to walk in on that!"

He grabbed her hand when she extended it to him, he walked them to their bedroom and he locked the door behind them.

This was going to have to be quick and they both knew it. Even though they would be in a location where someone couldn't just walk in on them, they really didn't want to get interrupted either, which was a strong possibility since it was already after four in the afternoon and Max had promised that they would be there sometime before dinner time.

They wasted no time in shedding their own clothes as quickly as possible. Brennan was done fairly quickly as all she was wearing was one of Booth's old sweatshirts and a pair of panties.

Booth took significantly longer as he was still completely decked out in his work attire of Brennan's favorite gray three piece suit.

"By time Brennan was done, Booth was still kicking his shoes off and was about to bring one of his feet up so that he could reach his socks. He hadn't touched his belt or tie yet.

Brennan started working on his purple silk tie, one of her favorites and it just so happened to match the purple silk lining of his suit jacket and the back of his vest.

She was so glad that he'd relented to wearing what she'd pick out for him in the mornings. It was just another way for her to feel like she was still connected to him in some part of his day, and they both enjoyed knowing that she'd picked out what he was wearing that day.

The silk tie hadn't even fluttered to the ground by time her hands were unbuttoning the front of his vest as Booth shrugged out of his jacket quickly followed by his vest. He tried to lay them neatly so they wouldn't wrinkle as Brennan's fingers flew over the pearly buttons on his white shirt and once she was done with that, he laid it neatly on top of his jacket and vest as she made quick work of his belt buckle and pants.

When they were both free of their clothing Booth scooped her up, and Brennan squealed something about his back, but she was already laid down on their bed by the time she could finish her concerned statement about the wellbeing of his back and having picked up her "beluga whale of a body" as she had put it.

Booth made sure that he didn't fall down on top of her and quickly ran to his side of the bed and opened a drawer for some lube. He knew that she'd been having trouble making enough of her own lubrication lately and they'd had practically had no foreplay, so he knew they would definitely need it.

He lubed up as she had settled herself in a comfortable position for her, which happened to be with her on all fours, and supporting herself and her belly with a few pillows beneath her. This position was actually a huge relief for her back and had been her favorite as of late. She loves the spooning position, but the penetration is shallow and is best for slow lovemaking, which they did not have time for. And sometimes, a girl just needed more than that position could provide.

Booth worked himself a little with the lube to make himself more ready for her as well. It didn't take long for him to counteract the lack of foreplay as he watched her position the most beautiful body he'd ever laid eyes on.

She'd taken really good care of herself and her skin so there were very few blemishes or stretch marks marring her skin. There were some, but not many. Even if there had been, he knew he wouldn't care. He loved this woman so much.

"Are you going to include me too or are you just going to use me as a masturbatory aid?" Brennan asked.

"I'm ready, just a second." He added more lube and positioned himself behind her. "Are you ready, baby?"

"I've been ready while you've been playing with—" Brennan let out the rest of her air and closed her eyes as he entered her.

The increased blood flow to her nether regions had increased her sensitivity by leaps and bounds.

He massaged her hips and lower back for the first several strokes, trying to get her to relax. He knew that he wouldn't get her to relax completely, but it helped. With her less tense, he knew she'd enjoy it more.

He started thrusting into her faster and he reached around and would occasionally flick her tight bundle of sensitive nerves. He knew that she wouldn't be able to handle a constant pressure or massaging of the area or she'd climax so fast and so hard that he wouldn't even get a chance to finish for himself because she'd be too sensitive and exhausted to continue.

When he got closer to his own climax, he increased the frequency of his flicks against her clit and then eventually made sure he had plenty of lube on his finger before he started working constant circles on her sensitive nub.

When she came, it was hard and fast, just as he'd known it would be and his own orgasm was heightened by the ferocity with which hers caused her body to clench and grip him and pulled him in deeper and deeper until they both found themselves recovering from the intensity. Booth rolled her over to a laying position and he snuggled up next to her, where they stayed and made out like teenagers since they couldn't make that kind of connection in the position they were in previously. They stayed like that until he knew they had to get up.

His clue came not even ten minutes later when they both heard the front door close and Max hollered, "Anybody home?" as Parker called out to them as well, "Dad! Bones! I'm home!"

Booth got up, ran to the bathroom quickly for a washcloth to clean up them both up some and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and then tossed Brennan the clothes she had on earlier along with a robe for a little more modesty around his son.

"Come on, Bones. We better get out there."

"Seeley, I'm so tired, now. Can, I just sleep for a bit?"

"At least come on out to the couch where you can pretend to visit with your dad and Parker is going to want to see you."

"Okay, you go on out there. I'm just going to freshen up a bit first."

"Sure." He kissed her after she stood. "I love you, Bones," he whispered against her lips.

"Mm," she moaned into another kiss, "love you, too."

"I'll order takeout so you don't have to worry about cooking," Booth offered as he made his way to the door. "What do you want?"

"I just want cheese pizza with extra cheese, thin crust and light on the sauce. It makes the heartburn worse."

"You got it."

.

"Dad!" Parker shouted when he saw his father emerge from the hallway. Parker had been sitting on the couch with Max waiting for someone to come out to greet them.

The boy jumped up and ran over to his father, crashing into him with a force that nearly knocked both of them to the floor.

"Jeez, Park. Gonna be a linebacker?" Booth asked him with joyous laughter.

"Maybe. Where's Bones?"

"She's uh…" Booth swallowed and rubbed his nose with the back of his index finger. "She'll be right out. You're not going to tackle her like you just did me; understood?"

"I won't. Is mom here?" Parker asked.

"No, she's not. Did she tell you she would be?"

"She said she would try to be here when I called her this morning."

Booth tried to think to see if he could recall anyone calling or ringing the doorbell while he and Brennan were otherwise…occupied. He couldn't recall anything. He checked his phone to be sure. No missed calls. Rebecca always called before she showed up, so he doubted that she had rang the doorbell without them noticing, even if they were not exactly in a position to do anything or care about the ringing doorbell.

"Max, are you staying for dinner?"

"Yeah, sure. What are we having?"

"Pizza," Brennan replied for Booth as she walked into the room. Parker greeted her with a warm hug and kiss on the cheek and two more for her belly. "I'm glad to have you back home. You should go unpack your stuff and then you can come out here and play a few games."

Then she walked over to the couch where her father was seated on one side. She sat next to him and curled into his side, as she had done when she was a little girl.

It shocked Max, but he wasn't complaining. He'd missed it too much. He kissed her forehead and she continued to make herself comfortable by propping her feet up and bringing a throw pillow into her other side. Max brought his arm around his baby girl and rubbed her back and shoulders, soothing and relaxing her tired body.

"Did you and Parker have a good trip back, Dad?" Brennan asked and closed her eyes as she felt the familiarity of her position wash over her and bring forth memories that she had long ago stowed away with the intention of never recalling them again. He'd even managed to smell the same, even after all these years.

"The roads aren't bad," he said, knowing that Booth had been worried, as the ice had been bad lately, "and Parker is a delightful travel companion. He's very good at some of the road games that we used to play, honey. Do you remember those?"

"Mmhm," Brennan hummed in response.

"She's real tired, eh, Booth."

Booth shrugged, "Yeah, well, carrying around two babies can't be a walk in the park."

"I bet that isn't the only reason…" Max trailed off with a knowing look that made Booth want to go crawl into a deep dark hole.

Brennan peeked her eyes open long enough to see Booth smile and shrug his shoulders again. He didn't even bother to refute Max's words. That was a battle he'd never win, and besides… it was true.

"Don't flatter yourself, Booth. I was tired before _that,_ too. It wasn't all you."

"Do you want me to move so you can nap here on the couch?" Max asked. "I can sit over in the other armchair."

She snuggled deeper into his side, "No. I'm good with how I am right now. Don't you dare move."

"Not for the world, baby girl." Max said softly, continuing the soothing circles on her back.

"I'm going to go order that pizza. Bones and Parker will share a cheese pizza. Is pepperoni okay with you, Max or do you want me to do a half and half of something?"

"Pepperoni is fine; thanks, Booth."

.

Forty minutes later when the pizza arrived, Parker had already ensconced himself into one of his Wii games and had to practically have the Wiimotes pried out of his hands.

It wasn't a long battle once he'd finally smelled the aroma of the pizza throughout the house.

Booth set the pizza boxes on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Max, we don't normally eat in here; we try to keep meals at the dinner table, but I don't want to disturb Bones too much. Parker, do you think you can eat in here without getting it everywhere?"

"Yes."

"I mean it, pal. Nothing. Bones will have a cow," Booth started walking toward the kitchen to get some paper towels and paper plates.

"I will not be birthing any such animal with the bovine genome, Booth," Brennan said sitting up and giving both herself and her father plenty of room to eat.

"It's just a saying…"

"I promise to be super careful, dad. I'll stay here on the floor and use the coffee table in front of me."

After Booth returned with the plates and napkins, they all ate and enjoyed light conversation.

It wasn't long before Max decided that he needed to get home. He'd told them over dinner that he was making room in his apartment for Susan. He'd convinced her over the holidays that she should move to DC and she had agreed. They had decided that instead of her trying to find a place of her own that she would just move in with Max.

He had wanted to get a good start on making room as they had decided that this weekend was the weekend that they would move her stuff.

Booth offered his help if Max needed it before they all said goodbye to the old charming conman.

Parker had tried to call his mom a few times that night without any luck before giving in to taking a bath and going to bed early. He'd had a long and tiring day so he didn't fight the sleepiness when it hit him, head on.

Booth and Brennan followed not long after. Brennan was exhausted and Booth was content to just lay by her and massage her tense muscles to relax her enough to get a decent night's sleep.

The following day, Booth had tried his own hand at trying to reach Rebecca before heading to work. He didn't have much luck either.

Parker spent much of the day helping Brennan finish unpacking everything in the guest rooms so that they would have everything completely unpacked.

After they were finished and had both showered, Brennan took Parker shopping to make sure he had clothes and supplies for school. Brennan was also thankful that Parker was well behaved while she bought herself some new dress pants and a few new maternity blouses.

Parker had even talked her into talking a walk over to the baby clothes and toys. It had been a struggle for her to not just pick up a few of everything she saw, but she'd promised Angela she'd let her take care of hosting a baby shower and taking care of the baby registries.

Still, a few things wouldn't hurt.

She let Parker pick out two articles of clothes that she bought double of, and then she picked out some for herself.

On their way back to the front of the store, they came across the crafts area of the store, where Brennan spotted several types and colors of yarn, books and needles.

She remembered her mother teaching her to knit back when she was in junior high. She picked out a couple of books for just in case she didn't remember how to do something or to see if she could master other patterns. She grabbed several of a soft sky blue yarn and a few pairs of needles.

She didn't know if she would be successful in making blankets for her two baby boys, as it had been years since she'd used her skills, but she had more than enough time to sit down and try while Parker was at school and Booth was at work all day. She had a steep learning curve, after all.

When they returned home, they walked into the living room to find a very shaken up Rebecca sitting on the living room couch.

The partners had given her a spare key in case any one of them got locked out for one reason or another or in case she had Parker and he needed something from the house when no one else was home.

Brennan could tell that once Rebecca had seen her son in the room, she tried to hide whatever was wrong.

Brennan allowed Parker to go tell his mom hello and hug her and then told him to go to his room and play a game for a while as she placed their shopping bags on the floor near the hallway.

But Parker wasn't naïve; he knew something was seriously wrong, but agreed to go to his room anyway after hugging Brennan.

Brennan made her way over to Rebecca.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Brennan asked as she quickly glanced over Rebecca for any injuries or anything that needed immediate attention.

As far as she could tell from Rebecca's seated position, there wasn't anything major wrong. But Brennan knew that if Rebecca had been standing or walking, she would be able to better assess injuries. The only thing she could really gather from her posture was that Rebecca was favoring a shoulder and her right wrist and she was sporting a slightly swollen lower lip.

Rebecca's lower lip trembled slightly as her face scrunched up in pain.

Brennan already knew; Rebecca didn't need to actually say anything.

Brent had gotten out of jail. He'd likely been released on good behavior. The judge that had given him his sentencing from the previous abuse cases had been far too kind in sentencing and had only given him the minimum punishment for the crimes.

"Brent did this to you," Brennan stated. "He got out didn't he?" Brennan asked, figuring that simple yes or no questions would be best, at first.

Rebecca nodded.

"Did he find you at our old apartment where you live now?"

"No," her answer was weak.

"Did he find you at work?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"I was—I had talked to Parker about coming over here to see him when he got home. I think I was on my way to lunch. The last thing I really remember was that I was leaving the office to go to lunch. I was going to call you or Seeley to make sure that it was okay for me to come over, but I didn't—I don't know what exactly happened after that. He cornered me. It all happened so fast. I didn't have much time to think."

The explanation was broken up and slow coming, but Brennan was glad that Rebecca seemed to be taking control.

"Do you know what happened after he cornered you?"

Brennan started searching her coat pocket for her phone so she could call Booth.

"He scared me; it all happened so fast. It took me a moment to realize what was going on… to realize who was attacking me. I was able to counter a lot of his attacks because of the classes that I've been taking. I think I hurt him pretty badly, Temperance. I ran away as soon as I was sure that I could get away."

"This was yesterday, right?"

Rebecca nodded.

"Where did you go? Booth and Parker had been trying to get a hold of you."

"I lost my phone sometime during the fight. I didn't go back for it. I went home, licked my wounds a little. He didn't follow me; I think he was unconscious when I left him in the parking garage. When I finally decided to come here to let Seeley know what was going on, no one was home, so I let myself in."

"That's fine; I'm glad you have a key. Have you been to a hospital?"

"No. I was afraid he would find me, and I'm fine… just banged up a little. He was worse than I am. If anyone needed a hospital, it would have been him."

"Can I get you anything?" Brennan asked, unsure of what else she could do. She was still searching for her phone, though. It wasn't in her pockets and now she was searching the depths of her purse, even though she knew she hadn't put it in there. Then she thought that maybe she had left it out in her car.

Rebecca pointed to a glass of water on a coaster in front of her, indicating that she'd already gotten herself something a bit ago. "I'm fine. I just needed you two to know that Brent got out. I would have called if I had my phone. I haven't even called my work—oh, man. I am so fired. I could have at least sent an email explaining why I didn't go back for the afternoon meeting."

"Don't say that. This is not something that you could control. You're not thinking entirely clearly right now. I don't think you will be penalized at work for—"

They both heard the screeching tires come to a skidding halt in the driveway moments before Booth flung the door open and ran inside.

"Are you okay?" Booth asked Rebecca.

"Booth…" Brennan started as she stood.

"I know, Bones. Rebecca did he hurt you?" He saw the stubbornness flair in her eyes briefly. "You have to tell me. Don't hold back here. This is _very_ important." His eyes were wild.

"Yes, he did hurt me," she finally admitted. She'd come here for help anyway. No need to worry about looking weak.

"Please, tell me that he came at you… first. Please, tell me that he tried to hurt you first."

"Booth, why are you shaking? And why is it so important that he hit her first?" Brennan asked.

Booth looked down to his hands and finally noticed that they were actually shaking. He looked backward toward the front door after hearing a noise, and only then did everyone else notice Wendell standing there. It appeared that they had been out to a crime scene before coming here.

"Rebecca!" He turned his focus back on her; the sharp tone in his voice startled everyone in the room. "Did he attack you first?"

"He cornered me and—yes, Seeley. He attacked me."

Booth brought his palms up to his face and let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank God!" Booth sent up a not so short prayer in thanks as he sank down to his knees in the middle of his living room.

"Booth, what is going on?"

"She can claim self-defense." Then Booth started rambling something about calling Caroline and a few other things about Parker not losing his mother.

Wendell stepped further into the house and walked over to Brennan, who was watching her husband as he seemed to have some sort of break down.

"Doctor B., we just came from a crime scene in the parking garage of the Wright, Strickland & Hartford law firm."

Brennan was starting to get a sick feeling in her stomach.

"That's where Rebecca works."

Wendell nodded. "We got a call about a man that had been beaten to death in the parking lot," Wendell was sure to keep his voice low. "Booth identified him immediately as Brent; he's been acting crazy ever since then. Mumbling to himself about wishing that he could have been the one to do him in and how Rebecca wasn't answering her phone and he was wondering if Brent had done something to her and wondering if she was missing or if we would find her dead, too. And When we were at the scene, he tried to call Rebecca… that's how we found her phone underneath a car, near Brent's body."

"But how did Booth know to come here?" Brennan finally asked.

"Parker called him, and we left the crime scene right away to come here."

_That's why I couldn't find my phone. Parker's been spending too much time with my father if he's lifting phones out of pockets without people noticing._

"As far as I know, Rebecca was at the top of the suspect list right off the bat because of where he was found, her phone near the body, and the fact that Booth hadn't been able to contact her."

Both Wendell and Brennan looked over to Rebecca who was fidgeting nervously on the couch. She was a lawyer, and Brennan had no doubt, she knew exactly what Booth had been rambling about.

Then Brennan looked over to Booth, who had somehow gained control back and was talking on his phone, presumably with Caroline, as they could hear her loud southern Louisiana drawl as she talked to Booth.

Then, they all—Booth and Rebecca included—turned to the small voice from the edge of the hallway, "Dad, what's going on? Is mom okay?"

* * *

**You had to have known Brent would be back sooner or later, right? Well, he wasn't around long, but it seems that his death may actually cause a few problems. What can Booth do to help make sure his son's mother doesn't end up in jail for manslaughter? What will he owe Caroline for this favor?**

**The good news is that Brent cannot darken Rebecca's life anymore. She can now live without fear for herself and her son. Looks like those classes that she started taking with the Booth family paid off.**

**If you haven't read it yet, there's a sweet and sappy little one-shot that I wrote for the August Bonesology challenge called, "Item Number Six". Brief Summary: Angela shows Brennan her bucket list & helps her make one of her own. Item #6 on Brennan's list will prove shocking to Booth & Angela.**

**Also, for a little smutty goodness, I've recently updated "Smutty Side Dishes" with a new one-shot called, "Coffee". Let's just say that "getting coffee" ends up being a euphemism for "quickie in the bathroom" at the lab.**

**Leave some love; it's always good to read and keeps me connected to you guys. It's how I know people are still interested.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	61. Observations of Love

"Booth, you're off of this case."

"But, sir, I—"

"No arguments," Cullen's firm voice cut Booth off. "You are too close to this. The victim—"

"Brent was _not_ the victim here, and you know it!" Booth was seething and his tone was laced with venom as he pointed his index finger at the older man.

"It doesn't matter what he is, Cher," Caroline spoke up from the seat next to Cullen in the conference room. "The man is _dead_, beaten to death, by a round of ninja self defense moves at the hands of _your_ son's mother. I cannot have _any_ of you, your family or the team of squints anywhere near this case if you want me to help you get her off of this on self defense. Any prosecutor worth their weight in gold would find any way to debunk the self defense claims by saying that the expert witnesses had a vested interest in portraying evidence in her favor. Plus, you're a witness now, not to mention the fact that you _also_ had every reason to want this man dead, yourself. I don't care how _good_ you are or how objective you _think_ you can be, you can't interrogate yourself."

"I understand that, but why can't I at least assist? I assisted Agent Perotta when I was a suspect before."

"Because, Mr. FBI, I am a _Federal Prosecutor_, not a defense attorney. If I'm doing you a favor and playing for the other team on this one, we do it _my_ way… _and_ you owe me something in return."

"Is there anything I _can_ do?" Booth asked, ignoring her bit about a favor. He knew she'd get to that eventually, but there were other more important things for them both to be doing at the moment. He hated feeling helpless. This had initially been his case and he hated that someone else, probably less capable and probably a rookie, was going to take over the investigation and hold in his or her hand the future of his son's mother.

Booth's boss spoke up this time, "First, take Rebecca to the hospital. We have no reason to believe she's a flight risk. I'll release her to you so you can take her to get checked out. There needs to be an official examination and documentation of everything. She should have gone yesterday, and the fact that she didn't doesn't look good on her part. It makes her look like she's hiding something."

Booth sighed in frustration. He'd thought the same thing earlier when Rebecca had told him what happened after they'd told Parker that Rebecca was fine. The adults talked Parker into taking Wendell down into the man cave to play games or watch movies for a bit.

He went, reluctantly. Parker knew there was something that they weren't telling him, but he was pleased with the fact that everyone did appear to be okay, contrary to the hurried entrance he'd heard his father make into the house after screeching the SUV to a halt.

After he had gotten off the phone with Caroline and talked to Rebecca and Brennan, he'd gotten Rebecca to agree to come in to the office with him to figure this out.

Brennan stayed with Wendell and Parker while Booth took Rebecca to get things sorted out after she and Rebecca told Booth everything Rebecca told her before his arrival at the house.

Booth questioned Rebecca on the way about why she hadn't gone to the hospital or found a way to call or text him right away and then told her that as a lawyer she should have known better. He'd also said some other stuff that he wasn't proud of at the time. Actually, he'd been quite hateful in his disdain of how she had handled things, and definitely owed her an apology later.

Rebecca was waiting in Booth's office as Booth, Caroline, and Cullen discussed the next course of action.

"Anything else?" Booth asked.

"We cannot allow _any_ of your squints to work on this, but I wouldn't be opposed to recommendations from each of them as to who would make good replacements on this case. Just have them email who they would prefer to take their place and I will contact them."

"Yes, sir."

"Go on. Take Rebecca to get checked out, and then go home."

.

Rebecca's examination had gone well. No majorly broken bones, just a lot of severe bruising on her ribcage and jaw. Her right wrist and hand were suffering a few hairline fractures from the impact of some of the blows she had dealt to Brent. And her left shoulder had some torn ligaments after Brent had shoved her into the side of her vehicle when he'd cornered her. All of her injuries were determined to be from blows taken in the initial attack and as a result of the self defense.

Booth had hurriedly taken snapshots of the x-rays with his phone when the technician had his back turned and sent them to his wife for her opinion as well.

Even with the decreased quality of the cell phone pictures, Brennan verified that the doctor who had examined Rebecca was correct in his findings.

It settled Booth's nerves considerably to have his wife's brilliant brain in agreement that Rebecca had been defending herself.

Now, they just had to go home and wait.

.

The adults had all been honest with Parker about what had happened after Booth had returned home with Rebecca, now sporting a wrist brace and her arm in a sling.

Parker even seemed to have a weight lifted off of him. Parker was a resilient boy and had bounced back from the abuse rather quickly, but after hearing that Brent would no longer be a threat, Parker seemed to stand that much taller, have that much more confidence, and acted that much more free spirited and outgoing.

When Booth and Rebecca had both stepped into his room one night when he was sleeping, Booth noted that he even looked more at peace in his sleep.

Over the several few days, Rebecca, Booth and Brennan were called in for questioning for various things just to get the timeline and events laid out. During these days, Booth didn't want Rebecca to be alone, so he'd invited her to stay with them. It wasn't the first time she had stayed with them and Brennan and Rebecca got along fine.

Brennan, without knowing it, played a huge role in helping Rebecca keep her mind off of what was going on and kept her from constantly worrying. The two had bonded over the last several months and Brennan took this opportunity of proximity to confide in pregnancy and motherhood stuff with Rebecca, who shared many stories and advice.

Ten days later, Booth received a call that Rebecca would not be charged with anything. Upon close examination by the forensics team recommended by Cam and Brennan, they had discovered that some of Brent's injuries were not purely from hand-to-hand combat. They'd matched some of the injuries to those consistent with being hit by a car.

After realizing that more went on than just a simple attack gone awry, warrants were issued, gaining access to the security videos from the parking garage they were able to see that at some point after Brent regained consciousness, he'd stumbled in front of a vehicle that was exiting the parking garage.

Brent had died as a result of his injuries from the car, not from the brutal beating he'd earned from his ex.

The owner of the vehicle was tracked down and charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Rebecca was off the hook, but Booth and Brennan still owed Caroline something and neither knew what to expect of that.

During the almost two weeks that the investigation took, Rebecca had stayed with Booth and Brennan the whole time. She was just going to stay for the first few days of the investigation, but had found that she really needed longer than that.

Brennan welcomed the company when Rebecca was there because, while she had not been fired for not updating her law firm of her situation, she had been placed on leave until they could figure things out. So, instead of being home alone all day, Brennan had someone there to help her with things.

The Monday before had also been Martin Luther King Junior Day, so Booth had the day off, which he used to help Brennan, Angela, and Rebecca paint the nursery. He also spent a good amount of time out in the garage staining the wood for the cribs so that he could get ready to assemble them.

With the three women working, the work was quickly done so that they could talk about Brennan's other plans for the nursery. She had decided to go with a soothing pond theme with baby ducks and frogs.

During the times when Brennan had to get up to go to the bathroom or to take something to Booth, Angela and Rebecca discussed the plans for Brennan's baby shower. Everything had been set up for the last Saturday of the month, which also happened to mark the beginning of Brennan's 30th week.

.

Now that the investigation was over and since she'd provided much help to Brennan, Rebecca decided that it was time to go back to her own home to try to move on.

Normally, a person would think that having their husband's ex-girlfriend staying with them for nearly two weeks would be weird or awkward.

But Brennan was not the normal wife, and did not in any way feel threatened by the blonde's presence. And Booth would make argument for the fact that it helped Brennan with her socialization skills and helped keep her out of trouble during the day, for which he was the most grateful.

The house was also big enough that if Booth and Rebecca had a disagreement, as exes often did, there was plenty of room to avoid each other until apologies had been made.

Truth be told, the relationship between Booth and Rebecca had always fascinated Brennan. While she wasn't an expert of things such as interpersonal relationships, she was intrigued by their interactions and Booth's unwavering love for this woman, the mother of his oldest child. In this point of view, she could see very much how his love for herself, as the mother of two of his children, probably looked to outsiders.

After Rebecca packed her stuff and left, Parker seemed really bummed and was in a foul mood. Booth decided that they should all have a night out.

Booth let Parker pick where they were going to eat and the activity afterward, as long as it provided plenty of resting opportunities for Brennan.

Parker decided on eating at Cheesecake Factory, and Brennan found herself really anticipating their desert options.

Once they were seated at a table (Brennan could no longer slide into a booth seat), they picked up the menus to peruse the selections.

Booth kept flipping over to the wine selections and looking to see which ones would go better with the meal he was getting, but then he'd flip the book closed again and then put the book down.

"Booth, if you want wine, you can get some. Don't abstain just because I can't have any."

"I do want wine; I just can't decide which one will go better with what I want."

"What are you having?"

"Hibachi Grilled Steak with," Booth looked down to read off of the menu, "Shiitake mushrooms, onions, bean sprouts, wasabi mashed potatoes and tempura asparagus." He looked back up with a playful smile, "you can have my asparagus. That's the one veggie you will never be able to get me to eat."

"Stubborn man. Asparagus is low in calories and low in sodium. The vitamins and folic acids and other nutritional properties of asparagus is something very healthy for me, in my current state."

"Ah, good, see! By not eating my asparagus and giving it to you, I'm benefiting the babies."

Brennan rolled her eyes. "However you see fit to justify not eating your greens, Booth, that allows you to do so without guilt."

Booth laid a hand on her thigh under the table.

"Can you just tell me what wine would go with my meal, please?"

"Chianti Ruffino is an excellent red wine. It goes with almost everything."

"Can I have wine," Parker asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," the automatic answer came from both adults.

"Just checking to make sure you both know that I'm here. I think I'm going to have the American Cheeseburger."

"I'm going to have Evelyn's Favorite Pasta… and your father's asparagus."

"What's that?" Parker asked.

"It's penne pasta tossed with broccoli, oven-dried tomato, roasted eggplant, peppers, artichoke, kalamata olives, garlic and pine nuts."

"Oh, that doesn't sound very good. It has a lot of things that I don't think I like."

"How about you try it? I bet you only think you don't like them because you haven't tried them."

"Maybe, but that depends on how it looks and smells. Okay?"

"You should really just try it, Parks," Booth said. "Bones has opened my eyes to many things that I always thought that I didn't like because I'd never had them."

"But apparently that doesn't include asparagus," Brennan laughed. "So it's okay if you don't like it, but please try some of it."

"Okay."

Their waitress took their order and got Booth his wine, and then Parker let out a huge sigh.

"It's going to be weird not having mom around."

"Yeah, it will. Bub, you know if you want to stay with your mom for a bit, all you have to do is ask."

"I know. I just mean that she's been there for a while, and now she won't be."

"I think we've all gotten used to her being there," Brennan said." She helped me with a lot of things around the house and she kept me company during the day and she's given me very valuable advice."

"Yeah, and I had forgotten how much I love her spaghetti and meatballs," Booth said.

"But did you have to request to have it three times in the ten days she was staying with us?" Brennan asked. She didn't dislike the meal—it was very good, actually—she just preferred more variation in her meals. Plus, the starchy pasta was not exactly the best thing for someone with gestational diabetes.

"Yes, I did. It isn't like we have her there all the time to make it. I was going to take advantage of the opportunity while I could."

"It was nice that she did most of the cooking while she was staying with us," Brennan said, gratefully. "It was very kind of her."

"Then she made me do the dishes," Booth grumbled.

"You do the dishes when I cook," Brennan's raised brow line told him that she didn't understand why he had a problem with that.

"You're my wife. You're pregnant. She's my ex; I just didn't like being bossed around by someone who is not my wife."

"But you did what she asked anyway…"

"I'm a gentleman. I certainly wasn't going to make you do them."

"Sometimes I don't understand you."

"I love you, too, Bones. You know, she'll probably miss having us around, too," Booth said. "The whole point of her staying with us was so that she had something to take her mind off of everything. She'll get lonely tonight, and I'm sure her mind will wander. Make sure you call her tonight before you go to bed, Parker."

"Sure thing, dad."

When the food arrived, it pretty well shut everyone up as they ate.

A sharp gasp and a wince as Brennan jumped slightly in her seat caused Booth and Parker to pause mid-bite and quickly scan Brennan for problems.

"You okay there, Bones?" Booth asked.

"I'm fine. _Someone_ just jabbed their tiny little foot into my twelfth rib on my left side. It just really hurt and surprised me is all." She looked up into her husband's concerned eyes and reiterated with a big smile, "I'm perfectly fine."

Booth leaned over and whispered, with a twinkle in his eyes, just before kissing her, "You certainly are."

"Ugh, guys! We're in public!" Parker said in a horrified tone. "Do that at home."

"You hush and eat," Booth told his son, tapping Parker's foot lightly under the table with his own bigger foot.

"You're really okay, Bones?" The question came from Parker, this time.

"Yes."

Parker raised up as tall as he could and acting as if he was talking over the table and down to Brennan's stomach. "I don't know which one of you hurt mom, but you need to stop. It makes dad really worried when she's in pain. You're lucky you can't get sent to your room yet. Last week, I _accidentally_ hit her arm when I tossed the remote to dad. I got sent to my room for twenty minutes because I hit Bones."

"That's not why you were in trouble," Bones said with a frown. "It wouldn't have mattered if you hit me or not, Parker. You don't throw things in the house, and your dad has told you that several times."

"Excuse me," a young woman, probably still in college, said as she approached the table. "You're Temperance Brennan; aren't you?" Her tone was shy and polite.

"Yes, I am." Brennan put her fork down and gently wiped her mouth on her napkin.

"I'm an Anthropology major with a criminology minor at Georgetown. I graduate from the graduate program this May and then I'll start my doctoral studies and internships. I'm hoping to be able to follow in your footsteps and do what you do. Anyway, I love your books. I don't have one with me, but I have a journal with one of your more recent articles in it. Would you mind autographing it?"

"Sure, no problem. Have a seat next to our son for a second."

The young woman sat down in the open seat across from Brennan.

It always amazing Booth how warm and kind she could be to some of her fans, even though he knew she hated this part of her fame.

"What's your name?"

"Kendra," the girl replied. "I bet you're excited about the baby."

"Yes. We are," Brennan said as she wrote.

"We're actually expecting twins," Booth added, clearly showing his pride at that fact.

"Wow. How much longer?"

"We don't know. Twins usually come early. I'm at twenty-eight weeks and four days. I just entered the third trimester."

"Congratulations."

Brennan was still writing as she spoke, "Thank you. Do you know where you'll be for your doctorate and internships yet?"

"I'll still be at Georgetown. I'm working on getting together applications for internships."

Brennan jabbed her elbow into Booth's side, "Give me one of your business cards. I don't have any of mine with me since I'm on leave."

He winced as her sharp elbow came into contact with his ribs, but didn't question her as he pulled out a card and slid it over to her.

She flipped it over to the back and wrote down her contact information.

"I'm going to give you my number and email address. We have an excellent internship program at the Jeffersonian for graduate students. I'll also give you the website where you can print off the applications. Contact me and I will personally set up an appointment with Doctor Camille Saroyan and myself and we'll go over what you have."

"Really? Wow, thanks. It's been so nice to meet you. Would you mind if we took a picture together, my professors will never believe me if I don't get a picture!"

"Sure," Brennan said. "Parker, would you mind taking a picture for us?"

"Okay." He got up from his seat and the girl handed him her cell phone.

"Just push this button."

"Okay."

The girl went back behind the chairs and stood between Brennan and Booth as Parker snapped the picture.

She gave Brennan a firm handshake and said her thanks and wishing Brennan well before finally taking her leave.

"She was a nice girl and fairly normal," Booth mused aloud.

"Normal?" Brennan asked.

"Yeah, she's not depressed, not overly perky, not faking a religion, not spouting a million useless facts… I'd say the lab could use someone like her around." Booth shrugged.

"When you put it that way… you're probably right, but I gave her my contact information because she was polite and seemed very sure of what she wanted out of her education, not just because she was _normal_."

"I'm ready for dessert." Parker reached over and grabbed the menu and started looking to see what he wanted.

"Oh, Booth. I want a _huge_ piece of plain cheesecake," Brennan's eyes lit up at the prospect of the sweet dessert. She'd been excited and thinking about dessert ever since Parker mentioned coming to this restaurant.

"Hold up, Bones. You need to think about this. You just had pasta. Starchy pasta, which is going to do nothing but turn into sugar. Now you want cheesecake."

"I can't come to Cheesecake Factory and _not _get cheesecake, Booth. That is cruel."

"We'll share one, but you are _not_ getting an entire piece for yourself."

"Booth!"

"It's better than not getting any at all."

"Fine. That means you get just plain cheesecake instead of your normal favorite."

"I'll live… as long as you don't put yourself into a diabetic coma."

She rolled her eyes in true annoyed Brennan fashion.

"And I'll expect some form of compensation when we get home later."

"Uh, could you guys not make propositions to have sex, in front of your child? I don't need to know these things." Parker looked thoroughly grossed out.

"Propositions? To have… Parker, mind your own business," Booth was flustered and couldn't keep it out of his voice. "Where is that waitress? We need to get some desert in you two before _I_ go crazy."

.

After desert, Parker wanted to go bowling. Parker's homework was done, so Booth agreed to take him for a few games. He asked Brennan if she wanted him to take her home first, but she wanted to tag along and watch.

For the most part she was content to watch but a few times she patronized the people in the lane next to them for how poor their bowling form was. She explained, in great detail, all of the injuries that they could cause to themselves by not doing it properly.

Booth and Parker tried to just play their game, but ended up fighting off the urges to laugh their asses off at the disgruntled drunks, who were drunk enough to actually try to listen and correct themselves—which was comical, all on its own—in the next lane as Brennan schooled them in human kinesiology.

As Booth and Parker played, their scores got increasingly worse as their distraction kept affecting their game play. Parker actually almost won the game because Booth was too busy trying to stay on his feet and not die laughing.

They both agreed that they'd had enough after only one game, so they grabbed their Bones and headed home where Booth and Brennan later bickered about whether or not they should even be having sex in the third trimester because Booth didn't want the babies seeing anything that they shouldn't.

Brennan made sure to tell him how ridiculous he was being.

Meanwhile, Caroline still had not collected on that favor they owed her.

* * *

**Can't believe this story has hit 800 reviews. I never expected to get this kind of response, especially on the first piece that I had started after a six year writing hiatus.**

**Thank you to everyone who has ever read, whether you've left a review or not. My motivation is knowing that someone is out there reading and anticipating updates.  
**

**A huge thanks to everyone that has ever or will leave a review on this story. Many blessings.**

**Congrats to bblover228 for getting the honors of leaving the 800th.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	62. Our Village

"Knock, knock," Booth said as he tapped the door frame of Angela's office.

"Well, hello, there. What a wonderful sight to see so early in the morning," Angela said in a teasing tone, that was still serious in portraying her appreciation of his form. "What brings you by?"

"Are you busy?" He said, blushing a little under the artist's appreciative gaze.

"Do we have a case?" Angela put her sketch pad down on the couch next to her and was about to stand.

"No," Booth answered quickly and motioned for her to stay seated.

"Then, I'm not busy. What do you need?"

He came over and sat on the couch next to her.

"Bones wanted me to tell you that she knows that you're planning a baby shower and that you could stop sneaking around now."

Angela's face fell, "Well, that's no fun. I'd tell you to call her a 'party pooper' for me, but she wouldn't know what that means and then you'd have to explain to her that it doesn't literally mean someone who poops at a party."

They both laughed at that for a moment before Booth continued.

"I'm sorry, Ange. I tried to get her to agree to let me take her to lunch and a movie tomorrow to get her out of the house so that you could set everything up for the shower. Apparently, she got suspicious because we don't ever do anything because lately she likes to stay home and relax. Well, she felt that I was being too pushy."

"You wanted to take a woman who is seven months pregnant with twins to the movies? Booth! Of course she figured it out! You're generally more sensitive to situations she'd be comfortable in, and sitting in one of those narrow theater seats with barely any leg room or wiggle room in any one direction… Booth, that's just not…" Angela pinched the bridge of her nose between her eyes.

Booth palmed his face with his large hand, stood and paced a little distance away and then back to his original spot. "I can't believe I didn't think about that! Well, that explains why she was a little bitchy the rest of the evening after that. She wouldn't even—uh, I mean, do _not_ tell her I said that she was bitchy!"

"My lips are sealed G-man. So, you're not coming here to tell me to call it off are you?"

"No, she just said to stop sneaking around. She knew you were planning it in the first place and doesn't see the need to be surprised. She feels like she's getting as paranoid as Hodgins about all of you guys whispering about stuff when you come over."

"Well, you know, you still need to get her out of the house so that we can set up, whether she knows about the shower or not."

"Well, how am I going to keep her away when she doesn't want to go anywhere? She's going to insist that she stay home because there is no sense in leaving since she already knows about the shower."

"You can still take her to eat lunch. She'll go," and at Booth's skeptical look, she added, "Booth, she's pregnant; she will not turn down an opportunity to eat good food. Pick several of her favorite restaurants that are maybe a little further away from home than you would usually go for lunch and let her pick. Take your time. We'll make what little time we have work. Don't worry."

"Okay, yeah, you're right. She doesn't ever turn down an opportunity for food. Thanks, oh and she wanted me to make sure that all of the guests knew that any disposable items for gifts would be unacceptable. Remember, we're using disposable diapers for the first few weeks, but then we're going to gradually switch over to cloth. Bones insists that we can get those on our own so that 'no one else is essentially throwing their money away or contributing to the global crisis' or something like that."

Angela laughed, "Oh, Bren… Booth, I've got it covered. It's something that I knew she'd request. They've all already been informed, and I've got you guys set up in a few registries based on things that Bren said she wanted and a few things that I think it would be nice your you guys to have."

"Good," Booth shuffled back and forth on his feet a little. "Well, I gotta get back to the Hoover. I'm not supposed to be here since we don't have a case, and I know I could have called, but…"

"Hey, it's fine. I don't mind seeing you, _any_ time." Angela gave him her typical bright teasing smile.

He chuckled a little, but remained standing where he was. When his smiled faded Angela saw that he was unsure about something. He wanted to talk to her about something else; this, she was sure about.

"Booth, are you okay? Did you want to talk about anything else?"

"Am I _that_ obvious?"

"Well, I'd say the fact that you practically just told me goodbye and the fact that you're still standing there is a good indication…"

"Right."

Angela made a grand sweeping gesture to the chair across from her couch where she was seated with her sketch pad, "Sit. Spill."

Booth sat, but hesitated. He wasn't sure that his wife would appreciate what he was considering telling Angela.

"I think Bones is a little sad right now."

"What do you mean? She was fine yesterday."

"She's a much better actress that we've all given her credit for. She acts fine while you, Hodgins, Cam or Rebecca is around, but when we're at home and it's just me… I know she's happy with me—really happy. Very."

Booth's eyes darkened and started looking twinkly as he sort of paused in definite remembrance of something Angela was sure he didn't want her to know about.

"So, it's not… _that_. She hasn't really said anything, but there is something bothering her. I can tell, and I think I know what it is. Parker has been staying with Rebecca for the past eight days. He told us that he'd like to spend some time with his mom now that there was no danger from Brent. I think Bones is afraid that Parker is going to end up wanting to live with his mother again or that Rebecca will want to change the custody agreement now that Brent is no longer a threat."

"Do you think that Rebecca will do that?"

"No, no. She said that she has no intention of doing that. She thinks that living with me and Bones has been good for Parker. She gets to see him whenever she wants, he is free to request to stay with her and she's stayed over with us before, too. I just think that while Bones _knows_ all of this, she's just feeling a little insecure. He's been there for eight days. He's called and we've seen him since he's been over there, but she's just—"

"… A worrying mother," Angela finished for him.

"Yeah, and she misses him," Booth smiled at the thought.

"Bren is more of a normal woman than she'll ever let anyone believe, Booth. I think that she has a legitimate concern there. I don't think there's much you can do except be there for her when she's feeling down or missing Parker. Just don't hover or she might hurt you."

Booth winced as he recalled just how thin of a line there is between providing comfort for his wife and hovering too much. He'd been on the receiving end of a few glares and threats of bodily harm if he didn't back off.

.

"Bones! I'm home."

Booth walked in their house and secured his firearms in their safe, after a long and frustrating day at the office. He'd had no action as far as cases went and he was even more annoyed when he had been seconded by Cullen to finish teaching a refresher training course for a bunch of guys, who were up for review after being reinstated for some reason or another, after the instructor had been called away for a family emergency.

"And thank God, because today has been a day from hell," he muttered to himself. "Bones! Where are you?"

"I'm in the nursery!" He heard her yell back to him. "And stop yelling in the house!"

Booth chuckled to himself, "Good one, Bones."

On his way passed the door to their master bedroom Booth toed his shoes off and left them right outside their door—something he knew drove his wife batty—leaving his striped socks to loudly and proudly announce their presence at even the briefest of glances.

She walked out of the door of the nursery and shut it behind her.

"Did you like that, Booth? I told _you_ not to yell in the house as _I_ was yelling. It was completely contradictory of the old adage to _practice what you preach_. Although, I'd hardly call it preaching. It was a simple request… one you should get used to since there will soon be slee—"

Booth's mouth crushed down onto hers and she responded almost immediately. She'd gotten used to being cut off by kisses from Booth when he thought she was speaking too much. She'd even stopped protesting about being interrupted after she'd discovered that whatever she had to say was not always of much importance and kissing her husband was always an enjoyable act.

When he pulled away from her, she excitedly grabbed his arm and pulled him to the door that was still closed behind her.

"It's mostly finished. I was just sitting in my new rocker that you got for me. It's very comfortable. In fact, I request that we get one for our room, too."

"Anything you want, baby," Booth held her close. "Can I see the room?"

"Of course," she opened the door and nearly dragged him inside.

As he walked in, he took in the combination of the fresh bright true colors of the paint on the walls, the natural look of the wood cribs that he had stained himself and the stenciling of the boys' names above the closet doors that Angela had obviously been by sometime during the day to finish. There were soft greens and blues and browns. And as he looked around, he noticed that the two women had also hung some things on the walls that had not been there previously, nor did he know of their existence. There were photographs of actual baby ducks and some of frogs and turtles hanging on the walls in prefect frames that matched the color of the cribs. The vivid colors of the animals and amphibians in the photographs were very visually pleasing and would be very stimulating and interesting to very young boys.

"When did you get all of those?" he asked as he pointed around the room toward the various professional quality photographs hanging around the room.

Brennan smiled, "Do you like them?"

"I love them. They are perfect. When you came up with a pond theme, I expected Angela to do some big ass mural on the wall."

"She wanted to, but I came up with this idea instead. When I told her about it, she told me she had the perfect pictures to execute the plan with."

"Wait, Angela took these?"

"Yes, Angela took the photographs in one of her photography classes in school. She's been coming over during lunch and we'd go through her portfolio of photography from that class."

"So you picked some out and she had them printed and framed," he finished for her. "Amazing. They look so professional, and the colorings are so bright. "And you know, by doing it this way instead of painting a giant mural on the wall, it makes it much easier to change out the photographs to change the theme of the room if you wanted. Genius!"

"I know."

She walked out of his arms and over to her new rocker and she sat down. He followed closely behind and knelt on his knees in front of her, not even caring about wrinkling his expensive Armani as he once would have.

He was on knelt in front of her, between her knees with his arms outstretched and cupping her waist and hips, fingers making soft light circles, as he leaned forward and placed two kisses, one on each side of her stomach, earning him the delightful reward of her soft laughter. He then rested his cheek and ear against her round belly as he rubbed his hands around her midsection, hoping to stimulate some movement in there.

Again, he was rewarded for his efforts and they sat there for a while enjoying the little family bonding time they were having. When Booth's knees finally had enough of his kneeled position, he sat back on the floor with his legs stretched out and brightly socked feet crossed in front of him.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Are you asking because you're concerned about my physical comfort or are you asking because of the talk you had with Angela this morning?"

"That woman cannot keep a secret; can she?"

"You should have known that, Booth."

"Are you mad that I didn't just talk to you?"

"No. I think that maybe I needed to hear some of the things she told me from her mouth instead of yours."

"What'd she say?"

"Everything you've already told me, but having that come from both of the people whose opinions I value the most, it means something to me. You're not just saying it to make me feel better. I guess it just validated what I know is true."

"So, you're okay? Physically and about Parker staying with Rebecca for a bit?"

"I'll let you know about my physical ailments in a bit, but yeah, I'm okay about Parker. He doesn't mean to hurt me. Staying with his mom after such an event is very understandable. Rebecca has also been very reassuring that she won't do anything to take custody away from us as long as our current arrangement continues to work well for all of us."

Brennan lifted her feet out in front of her and Booth took the silent hint to scoot closer to where he could rub her feet, to help with one of her unspoken physical ailments.

They were silent as Booth concentrated on the parts of her feet that made her moan at the burning relief of her stressed feet.

If anyone understood anything about the stress her feet were under as much as she did, it was Booth. He still had moments where his feet were tender from the torture he'd endured in Kosovo. And while she wasn't the victim of torture, he showed a special appreciation and attention toward her stressed and aching feet as if her feet had gone through what his had. He knew how to manipulate her feet to relieve the tension and stress and get the results she desired without having all of the physiological knowledge that she had of the skeletal and ligament structure of the human foot. He didn't need all of that to know what felt good. He let personal experience and her moans and sighs of relief guide his movements.

"Go on a date with me tomorrow?" Booth said as he tickled the bottom of one of her feet—he'd been delighted almost a year ago when he'd discovered just how ticklish her feet really were.

"A date? You just want to get me out of the house so that Angela can get everything set up."

"_And_ I want to go on a date with you. I'll take you anywhere you want to go, as long as it's at least five miles away. With Saturday afternoon traffic, that'll give us about half an hour total travel time, plus however long it takes us at the restaurant. That should be plenty of time for us to unleash Angela on our recreation room and Cam, Michelle, Rebecca, and whoever else is helping to set everything up. What do you say, Bones? Go on a date with me for lunch tomorrow?"

"Anywhere I want?" She asked, skeptically, knowing that he would have some objections to some of her choices.

"As long as it's at least five miles away."

"Do you really mean _anywhere_ or do you mean _anywhere where you'll also find something on the menu you would like_?" She just needed to make sure, because her first choice, while not completely unfriendly to the more carnivorous people, it was definitely not his scene or something he would particularly like.

"I thought I meant anywhere, but when you put it like that… Just pick somewhere good for both of us, okay?"

"Alright. Oh, I know! You know that Cuban place that is down the street from our old apartment in Adams Morgan? Habana Village. I want to go there. We haven't been there since we moved out to Colony Hill. Is that far enough away?"

Booth pulled his phone out and did a map search to check the distance.

"Uh, nope. That's only three miles. Good choice though. We'll definitely have that soon. Choose something else."

"Okay, what about Cava Mezze?"

"C-A-V-A…" he started spelling out loud as he typed it into his phone. "Is that one word or two?"

"Two."

"Spell the second one."

"M-E-Z-Z-E"

"Okay, hold on… uh, yeah. That's six point six miles away."

"Good. I hope you like Greek and Mediterranean food."

"Do they have meat?"

"They have lamb, octopus, shrimp, chicken, steak, salmon, mussels, calamari, and others I'm sure. They'll have plenty for your tastes and plenty for mine."

"As long as they have meat, I'll be fine. Hey, speaking about all of this food makes me hungry; what's for dinner?"

"Booth, I have been in here getting the last of everything we currently have set up in here today so that we could easily make room for whatever we get from the shower. I'm tired; I'm not cooking, nor did I put any thought into what dinner could possibly be."

"Did you eat on schedule today?"

"Mostly."

"Mostly? What does that mean?"

"I've been too lazy to get out of this chair for my three-thirty snack and I definitely haven't moved to go plan dinner."

"That won't mess with your blood sugar too much will it?"

"It shouldn't. My readings have been good and as long as I maintain the proper schedule with my meds it should be fine."

"Hold on. Stay right here."

Booth stood from his place on the floor and walked from the room and was gone several minutes before returning with an armful of supplies.

"What is all of that," she asked before seeing that it was her testing supplies, the blood pressure cuff, a fruit salad and a glass of strawberry milk—her latest must-have constantly craving.

First, he set the fruit salad and glass of strawberry milk down so they wouldn't drop and spill. Then, he tested her blood sugar for her and was pleased to see that her blood sugar was normal.

"Now, I'm going to take your blood pressure. If that bottom number is even just one above ninety, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Fine. It won't be though. That's the only reason I'm agreeing to that ridiculous stipulation. I've been in here relaxing in my chair all afternoon, since Angela left around two."

They both waited for the cuff to inflate and do its thing.

"I believe that you're fine, but I'm just doing my husbandly duties—you know, the whole _in sickness and in health_ part."

"I'm not sick."

"Not right now you're not," he said looking at the reading as the machine shut off. "One-twenty-six over eighty-one," he read aloud, then continued, "You're not sick right now, but I'm trying to make things as easy on you as possible so that you and our babies stay safe and healthy."

He handed her the bowl of fruit and she took a piece into her mouth and closed her eyes at the sweet delicious delicate flesh of the strawberry as she bit into it.

"You know, if anything is going to give me high blood pressure, it'll be the baby shower. I hate settings like that, Booth."

Then, she motioned for Booth to hand her the glass of strawberry milk. She took a big gulp of it and handed it back to him.

"I know, but think of it like a second Christmas, only you're not responsible for any of the cooking, cleaning or entertainment. So it'll be even better."

"Better than Christmas? You like Christmas—A lot."

"I do, but do you even know how much loot we're going to get from this? Think about it. Doctor Money Bags and his wife are going to buy out an entire store by themselves, then add to that anything anyone else brings."

"That sounds awfully materialistic of you, Booth. Besides, isn't the point of Christmas, the giving and not the receiving?"

"I said it was _like_ Christmas. I'm just excited to see everything our friends and family members are getting _for_ our children. Ultimately, these gifts are not for us. They are for Joey and Jake. That excites me a little bit—Okay, don't look at me like that! It excites me a lot. Our kids are going to have so much better than we had, Bones, and I don't just mean materialistically."

"I know."

"The people we've surrounded ourselves with are—"

"Our village," she finished.

"Yeah," he said, softly, as he held her gaze and quickly stole a grape before she could slap his hand away.

* * *

**You would have received this update last night had I not been completely hysterically happy and distracted for much of yesterday due to Emily Deschanel and David Hornsby bringing baby Henry into the world. So much love and Congratulations from your fans, Emily.**

**So in all the excitement yesterday, I didn't have time to proof this, which is fine because sometimes it's better to have a little break from something before proofing. I was able to make a few additions this morning that I feel made this chapter so much better.  
**

**I'm also taking the time to bring this update to you before my orchestra rehearsal-instead of practicing, like I should be. Otherwise, it would have probably been after six when this gets posted.  
**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	63. The Baby Shower

***Waves shyly* I'm so sorry for the extended delay in posting. I'm not going to post the reasons here, because chances are you didn't come here to get a novel of my life. If you want to know, just ask. I'll gladly tell you. Or you could follow me on twitter for updates.**

**To the anonymous reviewer who asked if I'd abandoned the story, the answer is obviously no, but in the future, send me some kind of message that I'm able to respond to so that I can get the answer to you more quickly.**

* * *

After making slow tender love to his wife, Booth made a light breakfast for the both of them that Saturday morning.

Their conversation was light as well.

They talked about Parker coming back home after an extended stay with his own mom. They were both excited to have the young boy come home and to have the house filled with his excitement and energy.

They also talked about today being the start of the thirtieth week and what that meant as far as the twins were concerned. Brennan explained to Booth that all of the organs and systems were fully developed with the exception of the lungs and the main goal at this point was to keep them in as long as possible to allow them to gain as much weight as possible and give the lungs time to finish maturing.

Brennan also freaked Booth out when she told him that she'd read in one of her books that she needed to be extra aware of any new backaches or differences in the way her body ached as that could be a sign of preterm labor.

She realized fairly quickly that he had turned pale at the thought of the babies being born so soon, so she quickly assured him, that she had not experienced anything out of the norm. She also made sure to remind Booth of her doctor's goal of thirty-two weeks as a result of her scare several weeks back after they had been shot at while looking at houses.

Her condition had improved significantly since then and her blood pressure wasn't nearly as high as it had been following that event. Brennan told Booth that she raised her personal goal to thirty-four weeks and reminded Booth that she had an appointment scheduled for this week and they would see what the doctor thinks then as far as pushing back his initial goal.

Despite all of the reassurances, Booth knew he wouldn't be able to keep himself from constantly trying to stay aware of what his wife's body was doing and how she was feeling. He was going to constantly be on alert to her every wince and pain.

And Brennan knew from the look on his face and the love in his eyes that he was going to hover and be his overprotective self.

She found herself surprisingly okay with that. She knew there would be times when he'd get on her nerves, but she also knew that if she needed space or anything that she could just talk to him about it. Booth was good at listening to what she needed and knew that he'd find a way to hover from a distance if she needed it.

But, more so than that, she found his alpha male protective tendencies to be especially arousing as of late.

And, boy, did Booth know it. He saw the look in her eyes every time.

He was still used to the _old_ Brennan, the one who would openly chastise him for holding her arm when stepping up or down a curb or glare at him and run ahead anyway after being told to stay behind him.

_This_ Brennan, though… every time Booth would do something chivalrous, he winced and just waited for the bombardment of comments as to the claim of her independence and full capabilities, only to realize that they were few and far between lately. After he realized this, he started looking at her to gauge her reactions.

That's when he noticed.

_This _Brennan would get a faraway look in her eyes, almost dream like. Sometimes, though, her eyes would be full of fire, and _not_ the angry kind. There was almost always a smile or a devilish smirk that accompanied the look. And lip biting. She always bit her bottom lip when she was trying to contain herself, especially when in public. How her bottom lip didn't end up chapped was beyond him.

_God, that's so hot._

.

When it was time to get ready for their date, Brennan tried one last ditch effort to convince Booth to just let them stay home since the baby shower was not a surprise.

She figured she could get him to agree to almost anything after a mind-blowing blowjob. Normally, she would have been correct, but today, Booth knew she'd try something to get her way.

He allowed the blowjob, knowing that it would make them leave a little late, but he didn't let his dazed mind give in.

Brennan huffed as she walked away from the gooey Gumby of a man she'd left behind to go shower and get ready.

When Booth was recovered enough to stand, he knew better than to join her in their shower because a) they'd end up being even more late for their reservations and b) he didn't want her to be even more pissed after he'd have to tell her that she _still _wasn't getting her way.

He went to one of their other bathrooms to shave and shower quickly. He splashed some aftershave on and quickly ran some mousse through his hair and spiked it to a sexy style, just like he knew Brennan enjoyed.

He walked back into their room with a towel slung low on his waist.

Brennan was still in the shower. She was probably shaving her legs, or at least what she could reach of them.

That told him that she was probably going to wear one of the pretty maternity wrap dresses that she'd bought recently.

She loved them because of how comfortable they were.

But Booth loved them more.

He hoped it was the red one.

His wife looked _really_ good in red.

Hot.

Red hot.

More importantly, he liked undressing her from those dresses. They slipped off so…

Booth shook his head; he needed to focus on dressing himself, not undressing his wife, who was not even dressed yet.

He heard the water shut off in the bathroom and then almost immediately the hair dryer started up.

Brennan's hair.

Now, Booth couldn't pull his mind away from running his fingers through her soft auburn hair. Oh, and the smell. Brennan smelled great. Always. No matter how much time she'd spent hovering over a corpse on a normal day, she smelled heavenly.

_Focus, Seeley._

Quickly, before anything else could run through his mind to distract him, Booth pulled out his nice dark denim jeans and a black button-up shirt.

He wasn't on duty, so before dressing, instead of his normal shoulder holster he put on his concealed carry holster with his personal pistol instead of his service weapon. He also grabbed his Saint Christopher medal off of his nightstand and pulled it over his head.

He was pulling on his second black boot over a blue and gray striped sock when Brennan came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, and hair looking soft and silky smooth and like it smelled good.

There was _that_ look, and he hadn't even done anything yet.

The smile, the lip biting, the fire—the good kind; it was all there.

Booth knew they'd be lucky if they even managed to leave the house for their date.

.

After all was said and done, Booth thought it was pretty easy to avoid any more delays in leaving.

All he had to do was manage to stay in a different room than his wife until it was time to walk out of the door.

She'd chosen her purple wrap dress.

Booth could live with that.

He liked purple.

And even better when it was coming off of Brennan's silky white succulent…

Booth focused more intensely on the traffic and sped up.

Thank God they were in the car already.

.

"I can't believe I'm letting Angela do this. We have all of the resources necessary to buy our own stuff for the babies."

"Bones, don't think of it like that," Booth said digging into his New York Strip that had been topped with sautéed shrimp. "They all know we don't _need_ it. It's about the time together, the family, the friends, the games and laughter."

"Weren't you the one who was excited about Jack and Angela potentially buying out an entire store and making this bigger than Christmas?"

"C'mon, Bones. You know I was joking about that. The reality is that it's probably true. But trust me they aren't doing it for us. They want to spoil the shit out of our kids."

"I don't want our kids to be spoiled. I want them to be—"

"What? Normal? Bones, children of ours will never be normal. Think about it. Famous crime fighting duo as parents, a famous author for a mom, Max for a grandpa, extended family of squints, playpens in your creepy office with the mummy and bones everywhere, not to mention the dead bodies that will be less than fifty feet away in the next room, oh and then there's self proclaimed Aunt Angela and Uncle Hodgins, who will no doubt throw more money and toys at these children than we will."

"I was going to say well-rounded and down to earth. My life has never been normal, Booth; and I knew theirs wouldn't be either. Do you really think my office is creepy?"

Brennan took a small bite of her lamb and savored the rich juicy flavor as she waited for Booth's response which she had to admit was a little slow coming, and it made her laugh inside about how nervous he was all of the sudden. She enjoyed playing with him like this.

"Did I say creepy? That's not really what I meant. It's not creepy… to _me_, but children might find it creepy."

"Parker likes it. He's a child. He thinks my office is cool," Brennan shot back quickly, further disarming Booth's corrective statement.

"Well, Parker… he's older. Boys, they like that kind of stuff, but babies, toddlers, young children might be frightened by such… _creepy_ stuff."

Creepy.

Booth couldn't find a better word for it. He was used to the creep factor in her office and it didn't bother him _anymore_, but he admitted, to himself at least, that at first her office gave him the heebie jeebies.

"It's just décor, Booth. Most of the stuff in my office isn't even real; they're replicas."

"That doesn't make it any better. That replica of the rifle that shot Kennedy that I used to shoot those melons in our little experiment might as well have been the real thing…"

Brennan thought for a moment and then conceded, "Maybe, I can find a way to scale down _some_ of the things in my office. I might need your help; some of the stuff is heavy."

"Sure," Booth agreed.

He couldn't believe she agreed to scale back the décor in her office.

He really hoped the heavy thing she needed help with was the mummy.

He hated that thing.

When he took naps on her office couch, in the past, that thing had often been the first thing he'd seen upon waking up.

That was a good way to have a massive coronary after waking up.

.

Booth shot off a text to Angela to let her know they were on their way as he waited for Brennan to come out of the bathroom before leaving the restaurant.

In the car, Booth looked out of the corner of his eye and noticed an intense and concentrated look on Brennan's face; she was focused on something and he had no clue what it was.

She didn't look mad at him and he didn't think he'd done anything in the last five minutes to piss her off.

She didn't look unhappy either.

Just focused.

But not the same kind of focus she had when she was thinking about something.

She shifted a little and the focus came back over her.

After another minute of the silence and focus from his better half, curiosity took over. He looked at her again, "Bones, what's up?"

She looked up to the roof of the SUV. She frowned, "What?"

"I'm trying to ask what you're so focused on. You almost look pissed, but not."

"I'm not mad. I just concentrating."

"I gathered that much on my own. On what?"

"I'm doing Kegel exercises."

"Oh," Booth replied, then another beat, "What's that?"

"Do you remember making love to me this morning?"

"What kind of question is that? I'd remember _that_ even if I'd have developed amnesia between then and now," Booth said with a big grin.

"That would be improbable, Booth," she rolled her eyes then she continued, "Well, you know that thing that I do that you always say feels like I'm 'hugging' your penis with my vagina? That's what I'm doing right now."

Booth's head shot sideways in horror, "You're doing that _now_?" Booth managed to squeak out.

He glanced back to the road to make sure he wasn't going to crash before looking back. "Bones! You can't just… _Why? Why are you doing that!_"

"Booth, look at the road, please," Brennan stated calmly. When he did, she started talking again, "Relax, Booth. I'm just doing it to strengthen my pelvic floor muscles. It helps prevent urinary stress incontinence and it improves circulation to the rectal and vaginal area and that may help prevent hemorrhoids and speed healing after childbirth. There's no reason to stress over me doing Kegels, Booth. No one would know I was doing them, unless I were to tell them. I was doing it at the restaurant, too."

"You," Booth laughed. It was all he could do. "You were doing that… at the restaurant?"

"See, you couldn't even tell that I was doing them," She smiled smugly. "And, not only does it do all of the stuff that I previously mentioned, but it improves the muscle tone of my vagina, making sex more enjoyable for _you_."

It might have been a small miracle that Booth didn't rear end of the car in front of him as they stopped for a red light.

.

All of the squints, all of both sides of the family, Parker and Rebecca, all the squinterns, and Caroline were all present.

The admittance fee had apparently been a package of diapers per person, children excluded. There was a mountain of packages of diapers stacked up against one wall of the living room, out of the way.

Booth and Brennan found themselves already impressed after they had walked in, and the fun had barely started yet.

The only male that stayed in the living room with the women was little baby Lucas, because Brennan declared that he was to stay after all of the men had been shooed away.

All of the men made their way down to the basement for some sports and games while the women played their games and talked babies, boobies, diapers and other womanly stuff.

Each guest had two blue ribbons pinned on their shirts, and anytime someone was caught saying "baby" or "boy" in conversation, another person could take one of their ribbons and pin it to themselves. The person with the most ribbons at the time that they start presents would be the winner of a lifetime pass to Angela's favorite spa, Nusta Spa.

Who knew that the always chatty Daisy would be the one to end up with the most blue ribbons at the end of the game.

There had been other games as well, most of which Brennan got annoyed with when she didn't understand them and saw them as pointless when she did. She still enjoyed the happy laughter of her friends and family. Especially, her two nieces.

Daddy Booth and all of the boys were called back up for the gifts and cake.

Booth had been right that Jack and Angela would go all out. They didn't quite buy an entire store, but their children would not be lacking in anything. In fact, their gifts had made nearly everyone else's gifts obsolete, but the Booth's showed delight in all of the generosity of their friends and family and they both knew that everything would come in handy for their children at one point or another. Babies were messy, and they knew that they would go through clothes, blankets, towels and burp rags really fast with the twins.

Booth was glad that someone had enough thought to get them a Diaper Genie. They didn't have those when Parker was a baby, and he knew exactly how rank and foul a trash can could start to smell because of diapers.

As they were having cake, there were a few toasts to the parents and family of the two unborn Booths.

Booth and Brennan were laughing with Max and Caroline when little Lucas James started to cry for his mother after a lengthy nap. Amy quickly excused herself to go sooth her child.

Booth turned his attention back to his wife, "Bones, I think you dripped some lemonade on your dress right there."

Brennan looked down, where he was pointing at her chest.

Brennan turned red and got up from her seat and walked quickly away from everyone and made her escape to the nearest exit, which happened to be the room Booth and Brennan shared as an office.

Bewildered by her abrupt departure, Max, Booth and Caroline stared at each other, only one of them understanding what had just happened.

"Booth, show me to your wife's wardrobe, please," Caroline stood and pulled on Booth's arm to get him to stand as well.

"Why?"

"Just do as I ask you. I've done enough favors for you, but I'm about to do another one, since you obviously have no clue what that woman just experienced. Just show me, Cher."

"Fine. Our room is this way." Booth gestured to show her. "Bones' closet is the one on the left. Mine is the right. Stay out of mine, Caroline."

"Calm down, Seeley Booth. I'm not going to go through all of your unmentionables. Perhaps you can show me what she enjoys wearing or at least what will fit her in this advanced stage of her pregnancy."

"I still would like to know why. The lemonade is probably dry by now, Caroline."

"It's not lemonade."

Booth frowned and went into Brennan's closet and pulled out the red wrap dress. "Here."

"She'll need a fresh bra, too."

He quickly grabbed one of the bras he knew he'd seen her wear with those wrap dresses.

He gave them to Caroline who quickly and quietly broke into a package of nursing pads that Angela had given as a gift and made her escape to Booth and Brennan's study.

"Here you are, Cherie. I thought you might need these," Caroline said softly as she entered the room and shut the door behind her. "This is the first time that's happened; isn't it?"

"Yes, well, no… it's just never been this much before. And I've never mentioned it to Booth because he'd never go near my breasts again if I did. Although, I should have realized that it would happen soon. Colostrum leaking from the breasts is a normal and quite common occurrence. I should have been prepared. Do—do you think they all saw?" Her embarrassment was obvious.

"No; it was just me, your dad and that poor clueless husband of yours."

"Did you tell him what was going on?" She took the clothes from Caroline, "Thanks."

"No, all I said was that it wasn't lemonade. He looked confused and got me what I needed and didn't ask any more questions."

"Of course, he'd give you the red one," she said holding up the dress. "It's his favorite," Brennan laughed.

Caroline turned around as Brennan changed.

"You know, Booth is still going crazy trying to figure out what your favor is going to be. He's so grateful that you've been there to help us with Rebecca's problems with Brent and with his death and the legal stuff. He's just really nervous about what you want in return," Brennan explained.

"Let's get you back out there to your party and the three of us will sit down and talk about that favor later. You ready?"

Caroline slowly turned around to peek to make sure, and was surprised when she found herself wrapped in the heavily pregnant anthropologist.

"Thank you for bringing me the clothes and for realizing what I needed."

"No problem, Cherie," Caroline said, returning a smile. "Been there, done that. The only two other women here that would have possibly realized what was going on were otherwise occupied. Amy was soothing the Luca-bug and Booth's other baby-mama was too busy paying attention to that normal squint that Booth is using as a partner while you're playing incubator to his children."

"Wendell? Why would Rebecca be paying attention to Wendell?"

Caroline raised her brows suggestively, "C'mon genius, think about that for a second. A woman spending time with a decent looking single man…"

"You think that she's propositioning Wendell for sex?"

Caroline sighed.

"I don't know about that, but she's definitely flirting with the man. If I were a couple of decades younger, I'd boot her out of my way."

"Wendell is a nice young man. He'd be what Booth calls the marrying kind," Brennan added. "I hope Rebecca sees that same thing. They both deserve happiness."

Caroline finally opened the door, and they both walked out into the room of guests.

Booth noticed her reappearance immediately and made his way over to her. Caroline had gone off in a different direction to make it look like it was no big deal and to draw less attention to the event that had taken Brennan away from the party for several minutes.

Caroline passed by Sweets right as he asked Daisy if he'd noticed that Brennan had been wearing purple a few minutes before.

"No, Opie. Colorblind fool," Caroline said on her way passed them to get more cake.

"Bones," Booth said, "What happened?"

They were standing in the corner of the room, at a slight distance from their guests.

Brennan hugged herself to Booth and rested body against him, almost as if they were dancing to music that wasn't playing.

Her head was on his shoulder with her face near his neck so that she could whisper in his ear.

"I was leaking colostrum."

"What's that?" He asked, softly.

"It's a thick, yellowish pre-milk that is produced and stored in the breast during the second and third trimesters. It leaks occasionally, but it's never been that much before. When Luke cried, I think it triggered the leaking."

"So it's normal, right?"

"Yes. It's normal."

"Just checking," Booth gave her a kiss before they got back to their guests, where no one else said anything about the purple dress magically changing into the red one after hearing Caroline call Sweets a colorblind fool.

.

After awhile, guests started leaving.

Rebecca said bye to her son and everyone else and left with Wendell, both looking equally enamored with each other.

Russ and his family left with Max and went to Max's place for a bit. Susan had been unable to attend due to work, but she'd sent her gift with Max.

Most everyone had left when Angela approached them with another wrapped package.

"I have two more things for you guys. Both are private and just for you two to experience together. Go on, open it up."

Angela had made sure that Jack was in the kitchen with Caroline and Parker before approaching them with their additional gifts. Jack knew what they were, but he was to act as the sentinel while it was being opened to make sure that Parker wasn't around for the reveal of the more adult gifts.

Brennan tore the paper off the big box and handed it to Booth, who wadded it up and put it in the trash bag he'd been using to help clean up.

"Booth, I need your pocket knife."

"Be careful with that, Bones," he said as he dug it out of his pocket. "It's very sharp."

She cut the tape on the box, and then opened the flaps before pulling out several colorful bottles.

"Is that edible body paint?" Booth asked with wide eyes and fantasies already escapading through his mind.

"What kind of artist would I be if I didn't help promote the arts?" Angela asked. "I advise you to take pictures of your masterpieces before you ruin them with your mouths."

"Oh, there'll be pictures, but you'll never see them, Ange," Booth told her.

"There's something else in the box, Bren."

"What is this?" Brennan held up a box that was rather heavy and had pictures of little painted handprints and other knick knacks.

"It's plaster mix. That way Booth can coat your belly _and boobs_," Angela waggled her eyebrows at Booth, "in the plaster and make a mold. It seems silly, but I think that it's something you guys will appreciate several years in the future."

"It's a great idea, Angela. Thank you." Brennan hugged her best friend. "Today has been so much better than I expected it to be. Really. Thank you."

"Yeah, Ange. You have no idea how much this means to us that you pulled this together."

Booth hugged her and then kissed her on the cheek.

Angela remembered back to the Christmas party when he'd kissed her on the lips.

"You know, Bren. I think I'm going to help you guys throw parties more often. Jack!" She called out, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep," he said walking back into the living room.

Booth and Brennan thanked them once again for the baby shower and all that was left now was Caroline, who was still in the kitchen with Parker helping with clean up.

She'd purposefully stuck around, and Brennan knew it probably had something to do with the favor that she'd mentioned earlier.

Booth wasn't even aware that she was still in there; he thought she'd left earlier, but was surprised when he and Brennan entered the kitchen to see it in immaculate condition.

"My son helped do this?" Booth asked, completely amazed that Parker had been coaxed into cleaning, and more so that he'd done a good job.

"Just a little old-fashioned elbow grease and team work," Caroline said. "Right?" She asked Parker.

"Right. I'm going to go play my game now, okay?"

"Sure thing, bud. Thanks for helping. I'm proud of you." Booth ruffled Parker's hair as he walked by.

"Daaad!" Parker paused at the entryway to the living room, "See ya, Mimi."

_Mimi?_

"Booth, Caroline would like to talk to us about the favor that we owe her."

"I figured that's what this was about. Should we be quaking in our boots?" He asked Caroline.

"I'm not wearing boots, Booth. You are, but—"

"Too literal," Booth shook his head. "I was just asking her if we should be scared."

"Should we be scared, Caroline?" Brennan asked. She hadn't been before, but now she was starting to think that maybe they should be.

Caroline smiled sweetly. "No, Cherie. No reason to be scared. I was just wondering… You know my own children…" Caroline was nervous. That much was obvious, and it surprised Booth and Brennan. Caroline Julian does not get nervous. "My son is gay and will never have children of his own and my daughter can't have kids at all because cervical cancer robbed her of the ability. I just… I'm not going to be having any grandbabies."

Caroline's smile turned from sweet to sad and moisture had appeared in her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued. "I know Booth's mother is gone, and your mother, too. Those babies need a grandmother, ya hear? I would like to be their grandmother."

Caroline held up her hand to stop Brennan from speaking. "Now, I know we aren't blood related or anything, but I've known you two longer than Max's lady friend. She's nice and all, but she can't be who I can be for those babies no matter how hard she tries. I'll give you time to think about it."

Caroline grabbed her purse off of the counter and made her way to the hall closet. She pulled out her coat and also a large bag of that she'd stowed there for this purpose.

"If you decide to allow me to be their grandmother, I have the ability to spoil those children rotten. I'm a federal persecutor and I'm not hurting for money, which I know is not a big deal for you anyway, but I'll never be able to spend all of my money on just myself and there will be cookies and love and good homemade southern food and hugs—"

Brennan looked at Booth and they had one of their silent conversations.

"We don't need time to think, Caroline." Booth interrupted her. "We'd love it for you to be our children's grandmother. As long as Parker isn't left out."

"Of course; I wouldn't do that. We had a little chat, him and I, just a bit ago. He's already on board with the idea. He even called me Mimi. I let him pick the name. I liked the sound of that. Didn't you?"

Booth chucked, "Alright Mimi Julian, what do we have in this bag? Hmm?"

Brennan opened the bag, "Caroline, you didn't have to do this. We would have accepted your offer regardless—"

"Shh, shut you pretty face, Cherie. I wanted to do this. I didn't think anyone else would do it, and I was right."

Booth looked into the bag and pulled out several crocheted afghans and baby blankets.

"You made these?" He asked.

"These, too?" Brennan asked, holding up several pairs of small knitted colorful booties.

"Sure did. Arguing isn't the only thing I'm good at. That's just my day job."

"These are amazing, and so soft. Feel this, Booth." Brennan held out the tiny booties. "They're Boothy."

"Caroline, these really are great. Thank you." Booth hugged the stout woman and kissed her cheek. "And thanks for helping Bones earlier."

"That's what 'Mimi's are for, Cher. I'm here for you both, when you need it and even if you don't. Ya hear? Anytime. No more of this favor stuff; families don't do that. Though, I still reserve the right to blackmail either one of you if you lose your senses."

"We wouldn't expect anything less, Caroline."

Brennan placed the bag of items that Caroline made over with the other gifts and after writing down her name along with what she'd brought so that they could write thank you letters to everyone, she walked over and hugged Caroline again as well.

"I really wish my own mother could share this experience with me," Brennan took a deep breath before continuing, "but since she's not here to do that, I'm more than happy to have you to come to if I need it. Angela is a great friend, and Booth, while he's my best friend… neither of them have grown human beings inside of them."

"Well, I'm definitely here for advice or anything. Or even if you need help keeping that man of yours in line. We all know how much he hates paperwork. I have the ability to get a lot of that shoved his way if need be. You just remember that." She told Brennan, conspiratorially.

"Hey!" Booth protested. "Alrighty, _Mimi_, it's time to go. Bones has had a huge day, and I'm sure she would like to rest now and I'd like it if you'd stop threatening me."

"Okay, I'm going. But I wouldn't have to threaten you if I thought you had more sense. Just look at how long it took you to take your bone doctor home with you. I believe there's even a song that says, if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it." Caroline shrugged and grabbed her purse once more and left before anything else could be said.

Brennan turned to Booth.

She was confused.

"But I do have a ring."

"Yeah, but apparently that didn't happen soon enough for Caroline."

"Crazy day."

"I agree; do you want to go lay down for a bit? Me and Parks can fix dinner."

"No. I've had a significant amount of food today. I think maybe just a light snack later will do. I could have a nap though."

Booth wrapped his arm around her shoulders and steered her towards their room.

"Rebecca was rather friendly with Wendell today," Brennan said casually as she let Booth perform his favorite ritual.

Taking the red dress off of her body.

"I noticed, but I'm surprised you did," Booth said. "You don't normally pick up on stuff like that."

"Oh, I didn't. Caroline pointed it out to me."

"Wendell's a nice guy. He'll treat her right if she lets him."

Booth handed her an over sized shirt to put on to fit over her big belly. She declined the pair of yoga pants he held out to her and climbed into their bed in just the t-shirt and panties. "Can I lay here with you for a bit, or would you rather have some time to yourself?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course you can lay by me for a little while."

Brennan groaned as the muscles in her back loosened up as she relaxed.

"Are you okay?" Booth remembered their conversation earlier that morning about new aches and pains being signs of labor. He heard her moans, but didn't recognize them as relief rather than pain.

"I'm fine. My muscles and tendons are loosening up after being up and moving around all day. I could use a massage for my feet though."

"Sure."

Booth turned around where his head was at the other end of the bed.

"I love you, Bones," Booth told her as he got started on her feet. "You know, I know I've never grown a human being inside of me—and I never will—but I hope you know that you can still come to me with anything."

"I know. Oh, god. That feels so good. I love you, too, Booth."

"Dad!" Booth heard Parker yell across the house. "Bones? Jeez, where are you guys?"

"In our room, Pal." Booth called out and then looked to make sure his wife's lower half was covered up sufficiently. She'd already beat him to it and pulled the sheet over her panties and upper thighs, leaving her legs exposed from the knees down so that Booth could continue his massage on her feet. "The door is open, come on in."

"Are you guys going to bed? It isn't even dark yet."

"No, I'm tired. I just need to lay down for a bit. We've had a big day and I get tired really easily," Brennan explained.

Parker climbed into his dad's side of the bed since Booth was in the middle and laying close to Brennan.

Brennan reached over Booth's feet to ruffle Parker's hair, which earned her a "Booones!" in the same tone he usually gave his father for doing that. Booth couldn't see it happen behind him, but when he'd heard Parker say that, he knew what Bones must have done and he smiled to himself.

"I'm glad to have you back home, Parker. You brighten this house up so much," Brennan told him.

"Yeah, we missed you a bunch, Bud," Booth agreed.

"I missed you guys, too."

Then Brennan asked the question she feared the answer to the most.

"Do you want to live with your mom again?"

Parker thought for a moment, and the air was thick with worry from both adults.

"No. I mean, I miss living with mom, but my family is more complete here. She still sees me all the time anyway. I just felt like my mom needed me for a while. I think maybe I needed her, too. She's the only other one that understood."

"Understood what?" Booth asked. Though, he thought he knew.

"Brent was mean to us both and he hurt us, but he wasn't always like that," Parker started to explain.

Oh, yeah. Booth knew all about this topic.

"I know she still loved him. I think I did, too. I hated him for hitting me and mom, but I loved him, too."

Booth stopped what he was doing and sat up, being careful not to kick his wife or son. When he had turned himself around he saw the tears in his son's eyes.

"Hey, listen. Parker, it's okay if you loved him. You can't help that. You can't okay. I understand. I do. You couldn't help it anymore than I can help still loving my dad all these years later after everything he did to me and Jared and then leaving us."

"Oh. I thought you'd be mad that I still loved him. He wasn't even my real dad."

"Do you love Bones?" Booth asked.

"Yes! Of course, I love Bones." Parker looked horrified and as if the thought of not loving Brennan physically hurt him. "How can you even ask that, Dad?"

"She's not your real mother."

"Oh. I understand now, but Bones hasn't hurt me. I thought you'd be mad that I still loved someone who could do that to me and mom and I don't know. I just thought you'd be mad. I thought you want me to hate him like you do… I do, but don't at the same time."

"No. I'm not mad. And like I said, I understand. More that you could ever know."

"Okay. Can I lay here with you guys for a little bit?"

Booth looked over to Brennan, who had already started dozing lightly. He knew that if she could have helped it, she would have stayed awake for that conversation. She'd had her own parental problems.

"Sure, Pal. Just stay quiet. Okay?" Booth lowered his voice from what it had been.

"Okay. Love you, dad."

"Love you, too, Parks."

It wasn't long before there were light snores coming from the two people on either side of Booth as he lay in the middle of their king sized bed with his ankles crossed and his arms up and his hands locked behind his head on the pillow.

He'd known, all too well, about the conflict that Parker had been feeling.

* * *

**I certainly hope that was worth the wait and that I haven't lost any readers. Parts of this were rewritten many times, and I'd really like to know what you guys think of the final product. Don't be shy. While I don't do this solely for the reviews and feedback, it is definitely a nice thing to receive.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown  
**


	64. It's All Booth's Fault

Brennan woke up without the aid of an alarm clock or her husband, whom she happens to think—despite his efforts to make as little noise as possible in the morning when he is getting ready for work—is the noisiest person on the planet, or at least if such a thing were calculable, he'd definitely be in the running.

She looked around and noticed that it was still dark and she peeked over the snoring man next to her in order to see the alarm clock on his bedside table.

Four six-teen.

Brennan laid back into her pillow to try to doze back off for a few more hours, but as her body went back to its horizontal state, the stomach acid in her esophagus flowed back up to the back of her throat, making Brennan feel like it could actually be possible to breathe fire like a dragon—if they existed—and revealing the reason she'd woken up on her own.

She groaned at the feeling of her nightly battle of heartburn and rolled to her other side to reach over to her bedside table, where she kept a stash of Tums, only to pull back an empty bottle.

Not caring about making noise, she carelessly tossed the bottle to the floor and slammed her open palm on her bedside table, in frustration.

"Booth," she said, over her shoulder into the darkness. "Booth, wake up."

He stirred, but did not quite wake up, "Not now, Bones. Sleepy time."

"Booth, wake up," frustrated, she rolled back over to her other side to face her husband. "I need you to do something for me."

"I'm still asleep."

"What? How are you talking if you are still asleep?"

"Shh."

Indignant at his response she put her feet on his legs. He hated that.

"Bones! Jesus Christ! Cold, cold…" an involuntary shiver ran through his body, "cold!" He hissed and moved away from her.

"Try to go back to sleep, Bones. Unlike you, I have to work in the morning. Or you could… _you know_… You're the one who says that _gratifying one's self is completely normal and healthy even_?" Booth said without even opening his eyes. "I would think that after last ni—?"

"I'm not propositioning you for intercourse. I need some Tums, but I seem to have used them all."

"Did you check the medicine cabinet?" His eyes were still closed, despite the fact that he knew he was about to be asked to do something for her that would require leaving their bed.

"No, but I keep the Tums right next to the bed. I don't ever put them in the medicine cabinet since I use them all the time."

"I might have some Rolaids out in the truck."

"Could you go check for me? Please? It's cold outside."

"Okay, okay. I'll be right back." He whipped the covers back off of their bodies and put his socked feet into a pair of house shoes and he pulled on his thick blue robe over his naked body.

He walked out of their room, down the hall, and out of the side entrance from the kitchen and walked toward their detached garage.

"I should have put on some pants," he said as he continued his walk out to the garage, pulling his robe closed even tighter around him.

He nearly slipped on a patch of ice, but caught himself just as he reached the garage door. He unlocked the door and walked inside, thankful for the relief from the wind and heavy snowfall.

He didn't normally park the SUV inside the garage, but he'd parked there, knowing that there were snow storms in the forecast.

He opened the driver's side door, again thankful that he'd parked in the garage because there was no telling how much ice and snow he would have had to clear off to just gain entrance into his vehicle if he'd parked outside.

He climbed inside and dug through the center console, checked the various cubbies, glove compartment, cup holders and then climbed into the backseat to check his overnight bag that he'd kept in the truck and he checked the pockets on the back of the seats.

_Damn it!_

He was going to have to get dressed and drive in the heavy thick snow to get some damn medicine for his wife. As much as he didn't want to go, he certainly didn't want her to go out and do it herself. Not in this weather. And the fact that she'd woken him up told him that she had every intention of letting (re: making) him go anyway.

He locked the garage back up and went back in to go get dressed.

He entered their room, trying to be quiet, but regardless of being the noisiest person on earth, Brennan was still awake anyways. It was very unlikely that she would get any sleep until she had some heartburn relief.

"Bones," he said into the darkness, knowing she was awake, "Why is it that you always seem to run out of this stuff in the dead of night?"

"Because, while my heartburn is bad all the time, it is worse at night. Laying horizontally brings the stomach acid up into the esophagus more easily. Also, this is sort of your fault."

"_My fault!_ And how, Bones?"

"You… you're always telling me, 'Oh, yeah, baby! Swallow that!'"

"Whoa-ho! You are not making this about _that_!"

"I most certainly am! And I don't know what it is about you, but for some damn reason I _obey_ every time, which is usually at night and it contributes to making the heartburn worse."

"Stop it! St—"

"It a common occurrence, Booth. Swallowing semen is known to cause heartburn for many women. It is salty and acidic in composition."

"I'm leaving now! La la lala la la la lalala," he tried to talk over her, "I can't hear you anymore. Lala la lala."

Brennan had stopped talking shortly after he'd started trying to tune her out.

"Are you done now?"

"Are you done talking about _my stuff_ giving your heartburn?"

"Yes."

"Bye, Bones." He leaned down to kiss her softly.

"Could you please hurry?"

"Don't know how long I'll be; it's really coming down out there. As much as I'd like to hurry to give you some relief and then get back in bed for more sleep before I have to wake up, I'm going to choose being safe over rushing."

"That would be much appreciated. Please be careful."

Booth leaned down for another kiss. "I will. Love you, Bones. I'll be back."

"Love you, too, Booth. Bye. Take your cell. Call me if you are going to be gone longer than half an hour, and make sure to pull over. Do not call me if you're driving."

"Yeah, of course."

.

As it turned out, due to the near white-out conditions and thick heavy coating of snow on the street, it took over an hour to get back home.

There went any hope of getting any more sleep for Booth, and Brennan hadn't been able to sleep at all while he was out getting her some medication. She couldn't tell if it was because of her heartburn or the fact that she was worried about the condition of the roads.

Booth downed several cups of coffee—"The blackest thickest sludge you can possibly make for me, Bones."—that morning at breakfast and he took a significant amount with him in his travel thermos to the Hoover as well as a Five-Hour Energy Shot—"That's so bad for you, Booth."

This was one of those days were he hoped like hell he'd be stuck with paperwork the entire day. He hated getting called out in this weather. The very thought of getting a call about a crime scene sent every reason Booth hated snow and cold weather to the front of his mind along with memories from the past, giving him plenty of justification of his feelings on the matter.

He hated standing there in the cold and waiting on the crime scene to be processed.

"_C'mon, Bones!" Booth said through clenched, chattering teeth. "Can't we just pack this guy up and haul the whole thing to the lab?"_

"_That _guy_ is a _female_," Brennan corrected him, "and this may be the one time where I have to say that we _can't _just take it all back to the lab. The body is frozen solid and encased in iced over mud and hardened earth. If we tried to remove the body, the bones could shatter or break off into shards."_

"_How long is this going to take?"_

"_I don't know. How long can it take to bring in a power source and hair dryers to slowly melt the ice away from the bones so that we can remove the body from the mud?"_

He also hated exposing his squints to the inclement weather. They are used to their lab environment and not at all made for braving snow storms to collect evidence.

"_What the hell are you wearing, Zack," Booth asked as the young squint walked toward the portable lab vehicle._

"_It's a coat."_

_Zack bent over to try to look down at his attire, but the fluff from inside the fabric was so thick that he could barely move._

"_That's not a coat. That parka has more stuffing than a Paula Dean Thanksgiving Turkey. Are you sure you're from Michigan? You look like the little brother from __A Christmas Story__."_

Another thing he hated was tracking people down in weather like this. They never ended up being where they're supposed to be due to closings, delays, and just plain playing hooky in favor of staying at home to avoid life, as if it halted for inclement weather.

"_What do you mean she's not in school?" Booth asked. It had been snowing heavily, but not so bad that anything was going to shut down. "This is the northeast; schools don't close for weather like this. Track her down. We need to question her and see what she knows about the bullying that led to this kid's death. Call the girl's mother. Her work number is in the file."_

"_I've already tried that number, Agent Booth. There was no answer," Charlie told Booth. "And there's no cell phone listed."_

"_Where does the mom work?"_

"_It's some small company, uh a pharmacy…" Charlie opened the file and checked, "Greene's Pharmacy. Sounds like a family owned pharmacy. It's possible they decided that there wouldn't be enough business to stay open today and turn much of a profit."_

"_Call again, if no one answers, then I'll make a visit to the residence later."_

Oh yeah. Days like today were the days he worshipped desk duty.

It was just as well, he liked being available at the drop of a hat in case his wife needed him for any reason. It made him feel better knowing that if she called, he would be—

Booth's cell phone rang and he looked at the display.

_Bones._

"Hey." He said softly into the phone. "What? Why?"

Booth listened intently to her response and started closing files on his desk and organizing them.

"Okay, when?" He asked. "In an hour? Okay, I'm cleaning up to head out and come pick you up. Love you. Bye."

See? He liked being available.

Brennan's doctor's office had called to inform them that they had moved her appointment to today in order to open their schedule up to close the office for the next couple of days.

Booth went upstairs to talk to Cullen about the change in his schedule for the day, which Cullen didn't have a problem with it since there was no open case. Booth promised to return after the appointment with a copy of the ultrasound picture so that Cullen could see.

.

Booth and Brennan had already been called back, Brennan had been weighed, and had her vitals taken and led back into the little exam room where Brennan had already disrobed and covered herself up with the pieces of fabric she'd been handed and now they were patiently—well, Brennan was patiently waiting for the doctor; Booth was messing around with a little plastic diorama of a fetus and uterus set that could be taken apart for usage in showing the patients what is going on in their bodies.

"Booth, stop playing with that and come sit down. _Or_, you could make yourself useful and kneed the muscles in my lumbar region to relieve some of the extraneous tension that I'm currently feeling due to carrying the weight of _your_ children."

"You know, all you had to say was, _Booth, will you rub my back_?" Booth put the plastic uterus down and walked over behind her and started rubbing her lower back. "Not that I won't do it anyway, but a _please_ would have been nice."

"Please," Brennan said in a softer voice.

"Uh-uh, too late for _please_. I've already started. Now, it's time for a _thank you._"

Booth's face was close to Brennan's ear and all she had to do was just turn her head and lean in just a little bit to connect their lips for a sweet kiss. "Thank you."

There was a sharp jovial knock at the door before Doctor Matthews strolled in, "Temperance, it's good to see you. Oh, look at that, what a good husband you have! Rubbing your back for you. I love seeing couples like you two. Good afternoon, Mister Booth."

Booth nodded to the man, "Afternoon, Doc."

The doctor opened Brennan's chart. "I see here that we're thirty weeks now. Good. It looks like your weight is fine, no fever, blood pressure is really good, and I don't think the nurse knew to do this because I don't see it notated in your chart, but I'll have her come back in after I'm done to take your blood so that we can do an A1C check on your glucose to make sure that you're still doing okay with your current medication for the GD. Any questions?" He asked as he pulled some gloves from a box on the wall.

"I've been having really bad heartburn; is there something we can do for that?" Brennan asked.

"I can write you a script for Nexium. Anything else?"

"I think my main concern is going into early labor, Doctor Matthews," Brennan spoke up again. "I had a significant increase of colostrum seepage this past weekend and from what I know that happens when labor is close."

"Uh, not necessarily. You've probably been leaking colostrum for a while, correct?"

"Yes, but this was significantly more so than usual."

"Bones, I though Caroline said that it was because the baby cried," Booth spoke up, not keen on the idea that he might have been kept in the dark about it being a sign of the possibility of her going into labor soon.

"Probably, but I'm just trying to make sure," She replied to Booth and then turned to the doctor. "My nephew was over at our house on Saturday and this increase happened right when he cried."

"In all likelihood, it was just the baby crying. Many women experience that. I need to do a pelvic exam, if you'll just lay back for a bit. I can check for any dilation. That's a better indication of the proximity of the impending labor."

Booth and Brennan were silent as the doctor checked Brennan for the usual signs.

"There is no dilation and no effacement just yet. I'm comfortable saying that you have a ways to go yet, which is definitely a good thing. Go ahead and sit up for a few minutes."

"What about our target goal? Is thirty-two weeks still what we're shooting for?" Booth asked.

"Temperance is doing well and I'm sure we can get her passed that week. Twins are almost always a little premature. Average gestation for twins is between thirty-five and thirty-six weeks. Given the high risk nature of this pregnancy, but also taking into consideration how well Temperance is currently doing, I feel safe raising the bar to thirty-four weeks even though we haven't yet reached the first goal."

"Okay," Booth nodded, taking in the information.

The doctor continued after he knew that they were following what he'd been saying.

"Our ultimate goal is to keep them in there for as long as possible. If you come in after thirty-six weeks, we'll let nature take its course. If you go into labor before then, we will try to stop the labor, and push some corticosteroids to help rapidly mature the babies' lungs in case stopping the labor isn't possible."

"So we should probably get our hospital bag ready, huh, Bones?" Booth said, his eyes shining brightly at her.

"I've already packed our bags. They are in the closet in the foyer, ready to go when we need them."

"She's been nesting like crazy," Booth whispered, conspiratorially, to the doctor.

"That's normal, Mister Booth. Though, I feel the need to tell you, Temperance. You need to really take it easy now. Get rest, as much as you can. All talk about goals aside, this is something that can happen at the drop of a hat. Be well rested and ready for it. And I _know _you'll both hate me for this one, but I must also insist that sexual activity should stop at this point."

"Why?" Booth asked. "I thought Bones was doing fine. I thought that as long as we kept her blood pressure down that it was fine?"

"From as early as six weeks along in a pregnancy, a woman's uterus contracts and relaxes, getting itself ready for labor. You know them as Braxton-Hicks, and in all likelihood, Temperance has been feeling them for a while. Right?"

"Yes, I have," Brennan confirmed.

"But now as the impending labor approaches, any little muscle contraction could start actual labor."

"Are you—" Booth couldn't believe he was about to ask this, and Brennan just looked on in amusement as her husband sputtered through his question. "So, you're saying that… having a… that if Bones has," Booth decided to avoid the word and use finger quotes, "_the big "O" _that it could put her into labor?" He finally managed to get out.

And then to his mortification, his wife's doctor—his wife's _male_ doctor, answered. "Yes, if your wife has an orgasm, she could go into labor."

The last thing Booth wanted to do was stand around while some man talked about his wife's _special moments._

"No sex. Got it. Are we done here? We can go now, right?" He asked impatiently, grabbing Brennan's purse and moving to grab her clothes.

"Booth! We haven't even had the ultrasound yet! Don't you want to see Joseph and Jacob?" She said with a pout that nearly broke is heart.

"Right." He put her purse back down on the chair and moved to stand beside her again as the doctor got the equipment ready.

.

Later that night, when Brennan was going through her nightly routine before bed, Booth was already laying in his side of the bed with his lamp on, admiring the new pictures they'd been given today of their babies. They'd used the 4D technology at this scan and they could actually see the babies' faces and what they looked like.

Brennan had commented on their bone structure, which had made Booth extremely proud.

"_The supraorbital ridge is fairly pronounced and the width of the squama frontalis of the frontal bone in juncture with the zygomatic arch are very much just like the structure of your facial bones, Booth," she told Booth during the ultrasound. "Our boys will be very handsome, just like their father."_

He'd showed everyone he ran into what beautiful babies they were having. First stop was back to work, as he'd promised Cullen, and of course that meant that he'd also had to make a stop at Mimi Julian's office. And since he'd even taken the time to show the parking garage attendant, he figured he'd swing by Sweets' office so he didn't catch any flack for forgetting their baby duck.

And he'd showed Parker when he got home, even though Brennan had already showed him. Parker didn't mind, he thought it was cool and Booth took out a baby book of Parker's and showed him pictures of himself as a baby, and Brennan had commented on the visual similarities in all of Booth's children and made a passing comment that she hoped that some of herself would be visible as well.

Booth couldn't take his eyes off of the pictures in his hands. He couldn't believe how clearly he could see the faces. Even, if he'd been allowed to go with Rebecca to her appointments, they hadn't had this kind of technology back then.

Brennan finished getting ready for bed rather quickly and slid in next to her husband, content to slide over into his arms and gaze at the pictures of their unborn children for a few minutes.

When Booth put the pictures away and turned off the light, Brennan asked, "I know we aren't supposed to, but could we make love one more time?"

"Bones, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not? If my appointment had been tomorrow—like it was scheduled to be—instead of today, we would probably be having sex right now. One last time, please?"

"Bones. Tonight, you'll want one last time…"

"Please."

"… And then tomorrow night, you'll want another last time and then another until something happens and you go into labor."

"Booth—"

"I can't do that to you, not knowing that I would have caused the labor. I'm sorry."

Brennan turned away from him and put some distance between them.

"You're mean."

Booth thought she was very cute when she acted like a petulant child, but he was not going to tell her that or give in, like he knew she was trying to get him to do.

"Oh, yeah. I'm so mean, Bones. I'm doing this just because I want to deprive you of sex. I'm not thinking about our children or anything. No, not a big deal."

Brennan missed the sarcasm, "That doesn't even make any sense, Booth. I don't understand what the difference of a few hours makes in this situation."

"You're making this harder than it has to be on both of us. Just go to sleep, Bones."

After several minutes passed, Brennan still could not seem to find a position that was comfortable. She kept moving and turning in the bed and kept Booth wide awake and he finally had to speak up.

"Bones, is something wrong?" He asked, getting concerned about the amount of restlessness she seemed to be experiencing.

"This is all _your_ fault, Booth!" She yelled as she hit the mattress and then pounded her pillows a few times with the palms of her hands.

"What?"

_Oh shit. This is not going to be good._

"Everything. This. All of it!"

"Clearly, I upset you in some way. Is this because I wouldn't have sex with you?"

"No."

"Then, what? Because I don't have a clue here, Bones. I don't know what I did. Please, enlighten me."

"You got me pregnant, _with twins,_ and now I can't see my feet. I can't lean forward without feeling like I'll either vomit or I'll tip over and never be able to get up. Speaking of getting up, getting out of bed is damn near impossible! I have to roll out! I haven't been able to shave my own legs since, well, I don't remember! I've got stretch marks _everywhere_. My feet are swollen. My hips feel like they are dislocating themselves and feel like they are being held together by weak rubber bands, and all of this heartburn, which I have, _again_, by the way! And now we can't even have sex anymore. And I just want to _kill_ you for getting me pregnant _with twins,_" she finished on a whine.

Booth knew he should just move over and hold her like a good husband, but he couldn't let her just get away with attacking him and making it all his fault!

"You can't get mad at me for the twin thing."

"Yes, I can."

"No, look, Cam explained to me how _identical_ twins are formed in case you tried to pin it all on me and use it against me. She said that it was _your_ egg that split after fertilization. It had nothing to do with my super sperm overrunning and fertilizing everything they touched."

"Well, that's true, but remember, I was on the pill."

"Yeah, and you were also on antibiotics for a brief time, if I remember correctly! You should have known that it would have affected the effectiveness of the pill."

"This was _not_ supposed to happen! It is _your_ fault."

"Please, Bones. You are crushing my heart here. Please, tell me you aren't thinking this was a mistake!"

"I would never think that!"

"Then what is wrong? Because you are making it sound like you are regretting making those wonderful children inside of you. Remember their pictures we saw today? Are you really that unhappy with having children with me or are you just pissed that you can't have sex and have to take it easy all day with nothing to do while _our_ children are housed safely within your beautiful body? So you're taking your frustrations out on me, but you know what Bones, we _both_ did this. It's a beautiful thing, and I know that's easy for me to say since I'm not going to have to pop those babies out of any small hole in my body or suffer all of the effects from growing with the babies."

"I'm happy to have your children, but I am pissed off at _you_. Tell me why I shouldn't be. You just admitted the primary reason. You have it _easy_—"

"Hey! Shh. I know I do, okay? I think you're just frustrated because I won't have sex with you because the doctor said not to. All of these little things built up and you just exploded all over me! Remember, I don't get to have sex either."

"—You don't have to really do much of anything. Meanwhile, I'm as huge as a house and my body will never be the same while you sit there still looking like _that_! Your part in this process was over with at conception. Booth, just… get your pillow and go sleep in one of the guest rooms. You're lack of the ability to participate in the gestation of these two babies is irritating me."

Booth was stunned. He'd never been banished from the bed before by Bones.

"I'll go because you asked me to, not because I want to. I love you, Bones. We'll talk again when you're not so overwhelmed. In the future, could you please talk to me instead of letting everything build up? I'm your husband, and that's what I'm here for."

She let him kiss her forehead and leave the room, knowing how ridiculous she was being, but still too hurt to admit it.

Booth left the room and went to the hall closet to get some sheets and blankets and headed to the couch instead of the guest room, where he could at least watch TV, because he knew there was no way he was going to be getting any sleep, knowing how upset his wife was and hoping that her own inability to sleep would coax her out to come get him.

Eventually she came out of the room. It didn't take her as long as he thought it would for her to calm down and realize that she couldn't leave things like that between them. He was so proud of her progress in understanding how their relationship as husband and wife should work.

In just a little over three weeks, they will be celebrating a year of their romantic relationship. She'd improved my leaps and bounds since the beginning.

"Booth," she called into the darkened family room, quietly, so that she wouldn't wake Parker, whose room was just down the hall. "Are you awake?"

"Yes," he answered back, watching as she crept closer to him.

"I can't sleep. The bed is cold and unfriendly when you aren't there. Come back to bed, please? I mean, I would understand if you didn't. I was very—"

"Shh. Hey, I'll come back to bed." Booth stood from the couch, and grabbed his pillow, leaving the rest of the blankets and stuff to be folded in the morning. He shut the TV off and wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked back to their bedroom.

They climbed back in and scooted toward each other in the center of the bed.

"I'm sorry, Booth."

"It's okay, Bones, but look at me for a second."

She pulled her face out of the crook of his neck far enough that she could look at him.

"I feel like I need to make something clear here. I'm here for _whatever_ you need. We're in this _together_. My _job_ isn't over, not by a long shot. I'm here to help make it easier on you. I'm here to wait on you, hand-and-foot. I'm here for you to lean on when you need my shoulder. I'm here to make you feel loved, and make you feel better. I'm here to get you what you need when you need it so that you don't have to get up. I'm here to coach you through to the end, and then you know what? I'm not done there either. It'll take both of us to raise these two babies. I'm here, baby. I can't take away your discomfort, but I can make it easier. We're _partners_, Bones, part of a _team_. It's going to take both of us, _partner_."

"That sounds nice and wonderful and idealized, but—"

"But nothing, Bones. Just let me love you and take care of you. Tonight, I'll make love to you one last time, okay? And then we can both be cranky celibate people for the foreseeable future. It may be crazy for a while around here, but we'll get through this. We're _partners_."

"Because we're Booth and Bones."

"Always, but mostly, we're Seeley and Temperance right now. We're a family."

* * *

**I'm so glad I got this finished before I leave to go on tour tomorrow. I'll only be gone for a couple of days. I hope to get caught up on a bunch of story alerts so that I can write more when I get back. **

**I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Leave some reviews for me to come home to. I very much look forward to your responses to this chapter.**

******I have not forgotten about SIE or FAD**. I may put them on hiatus until this is done. I have a lot going on right now and cannot really handle having three big WIPs. I apologize for that, but they will all be finished. I can't stand to leave things unfinished.

**And I hope you aren't mad about B&B's little fight. It can't all be sunshine and cotton candy. I had seriously considered ending this chapter where Brennan tells Booth to take his pillow and go sleep somewhere else, but that would have been really mean, and I just couldn't do that to them-or you.  
**

**XOXO,  
Jen  
**


	65. Range Master Booth

**I apologize for the hiatus. Life happened.**

**I'm back. My laptop is also fixed. That was a long time coming, as is this chapter. Enjoy.**

* * *

Sunday morning, Booth was rudely awakened before his Sunday alarm for church by two freezing cold feet stuffed between his calves.

He groaned at the unwelcome feeling, and then noticed he was cold not just on his legs where his wife's ice cubes were located, but his arms, chest, and rear end were exposed to the early morning chilly air as well.

Without opening his eyes, he reached around for the covers, a sheet, anything to pull over him, but found nothing within reach until he reached over far enough that he touched a rather fluffy puff of fabric covering the body next to his.

Opening his eyes to investigate the situation, he saw the problem.

Brennan had cocooned her entire body inside their covers, having stolen his half in the process, leaving only his legs from the thighs down covered up.

He didn't want to wake her up, but he was cold, damn it! And it was nowhere near time for him to get up and get ready for church yet.

_Hmm, maybe I can do this without waking her up._

He tried to un-tuck some of the fabric to see if he could gain enough purchase to worm his way inside the warm cocoon.

He even tried to follow the open slit where his thighs emerged from within.

Nothing.

_What the hell, Bones! Fucking origami blanket burrito bull shit!_

He gave up after realizing there was no way he was going to penetrate her fortress of fluffiness. He wiggled his legs out from between hers and out of the covers and got out of bed and grumbled unhappily at having to walk to the linen closet to pull out some blankets for himself.

When he got back to their bed, he wrapped himself tightly in his new blankets and tucked them well out of Mrs. Booth's reach.

_I'll be damned if you get these, too, _he said to himself as he went back to sleep.

.

He was awakened sometime later by Brennan pulling the curtains open slowly, letting the light into the room.

He opened his eyes and looked over to her as she stood absorbing the warmth from the sun, and in doing so, the rays of light around her created an ethereal effect that had Booth wondering if he'd died from freezing to death in his sleep and was now in heaven.

When she turned around to walk toward her husband, she noticed Booth staring back at her; she spoke softly, "You overslept this morning. I was going to wake you up a little earlier, but I realized you wouldn't have made it to church anyway, so I let you sleep longer. Lunch is ready."

"Okay," he acknowledged her. "Parker awake yet?"

"Yes. He's with my dad. He called early this morning and wanted to spend time with him. I think dad feels like he has to try to give us as much time alone together as he can."

"Yeah, well, if he wants to lighten our load every once in a while, I don't mind," Booth said getting up and folding the blankets he'd taken from the linen closet in the early morning. "So…" Booth starts, knowing how she felt as a single adult, but not knowing how she felt about it as a married woman in love, "Next Monday is Valentine's Day…" he trailed off watching her intently.

"Why did you get your own covers last night?" she asked with a tilted head. "Did you not want to share with me?"

Booth draped the folded blankets over the cedar chest at the foot of their bed and then paused to look at Brennan.

"Why did I—Bones! I woke up with _your_ _freezing_ feet between _my_ legs and an uncovered body because sometime during the night, _you_ decided that you wanted to swaddle yourself—_and_ my legs-into a nice Bonesy Bear burrito. _You're_ the one with sharing issues, baby."

He resumed his actions to make their bed, and she moved to help him with the other side and together they neatly draped the covers smoothly over the bed.

"Booth, you know I don't like that nickname… but that was a clever use of alliteration."

"Yes, I thought so. Now are you done avoiding the original topic of conversation?"

They tucked the covers around the bed and Booth moved to grab a pair of jeans, pulling them on, but not buttoning them up yet.

"Which was?"

"Valentine's Day," he said as he walked into the bathroom briefly to take care of some business.

"Oh. I thought that you were just making a statement. _Next_ _Monday is Valentine's Day._ That's a statement. I didn't know there was anything to discuss."

"That's because I wasn't finished. I had a question for you, but I didn't know how you felt about it."

The toilet flushed and Booth ran water in the sink briefly. Brennan waited until she was sure that he could hear her before she spoke again.

"So what's the question?" Brennan asked, watching Booth emerge from the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth, jeans still unbuttoned, and hair wild from sleep.

Booth tried to talk around his toothbrush.

"How d'yo—" He quickly figured out he just needs to remove the toothbrush. "How do you feel about Valentine's Day? I mean, we weren't even a couple until the 25th of this month last year, so I have nothing to go on here. I mean, now we're married. I just don't know what you're expecting or not expecting maybe. I didn't want to get you something and make plans if you were just going to scoff at it, but then again, I didn't want you to expect anything like that and then not get it because I'm not sure what to do here."

He resumed the brushing as Brennan picked at something invisible on the blankets folded up next to her where she was seated on the cedar chest.

"Oh, then I'm glad you asked. My views of the day have not changed with my marital status, Booth."

"Okay. That's good to know," Booth nodded his head, maybe a little disappointed, but he'd live.

"We could make the day our own," she suggested. "No gifts, no cards. Just Booth and Bones."

"What will we do?"

"You can make us an amazing meal from your Booth family secret recipe book that used to belong to you grandmother and we can spend some time together and work on my book. How's that sound?"

"Perfect. Are you sure you don't want anything?"

"Nothing… On second thought. You could get me some candy. Preferably dark chocolate, no nuts."

"Do I get any?"

"I _might_ share."

Booth went to the bathroom to spit and rinse his mouth and toothbrush.

"Okay."

"But, Booth?"

"Yes?"

"If any of it is heart-shaped, or even reeks of Valentine's Day propaganda, I'll—I'll…"

"What? Spank me?"

"Maybe."

Booth's eyes lit up with a devilish twinkle, "Ooh, promise?"

"You're awful," Brennan laughed as she stood up for a minty good morning kiss.

Booth shrugged with a sweet smile. "What's for lunch?" Then in a flash, a devilish grin appeared, "Is it Bonesy Bear burrito?" He said making a lunge for the pulse point on her neck.

"Booth!" She shrieked as the shivers from the unexpected hot contact engulfed her.

He bit her playfully and soothed the slight sting with hot open-mouthed kisses.

He rubbed his hands soothingly over her swollen abdomen pushing into his own as he pulled away from her neck and kissed her lovingly again on the lips.

"How are my boys this morning, Mama?"

"Thankfully, restful. They haven't been very active this morning, which has made it easier for me to relax and take it easy."

"Good." Booth turned them both to walk out of their room and wrapped his arm around his wife as he guided her toward the kitchen. "What's for lunch?"

"Baked salmon and steamed vegetables. Are you really going to walk around like that today? No shirt and your pants undone?"

"Yep."

"If you do that, this is going to seem like the longest period of abstention in the history of mankind," Brennan muttered.

"How hyperbolic of you, Bones." Booth grinned as she rolled her eyes at the statement that she usually said towards him after one of his grossly exaggerated statements.

.

Ten minutes into his workday on Monday, Booth was seated at his desk with nothing to do. His caseload had been light, since they weren't getting many punted their way because of Brennan's leave from the lab. He didn't have any current cases of his own. He didn't even have any humdrum mountains of paperwork to do. This all struck him as odd. In the nine years that he's been an agent, this has never happened to him. He'd never had nothing to do, especially on a Monday morning.

He stopped making a mental checklist of stuff that usually needed done and pulled out a legal pad and started to write the list down, sure that he was missing something.

Booth was twenty minutes into staring at his list when the door to his office opened—he'd shut it earlier so that no one saw him sitting there, doing nothing—and his boss popped his head in. "Agent Booth," he greeted.

"Good morning, Sir. What brings you down to the lower levels today?"

"You have a minute?" he asked, knowing he did, "of course you do. You don't have any open cases and you've been sitting here with nothing to do." Before Booth could respond, he walked in and had a seat in front of Booth.

"How did y—"

"Why do you think you didn't have any paperwork or menial tasks to do when you got here? I took care of all of that. I have a proposition for you."

"What kind?" Booth asked, not sure he'd be interested.

"We have a marksmanship course that is required for those who fail the gun certification test if they wish to take it again, whether it was their first time or a requalification that they failed, and also there may be some agents who have been out of the field and are coming back for recertification. How would you like to teach that class for a while?"

"Me, teach?"

"Yes, you'd be perfect for the job. You're the only agent we've had in years that's scored a perfect score on the test each time you've taken it, on both the written and the field trial."

Booth considered seriously taking the opportunity for a minute before Cullen could see a hesitation and knew exactly what would be holding him back from saying that he'd do it.

"This would be a temporary position, of course," he jumped in to explain. "It's a weekly class, Monday through Friday and then starts over with new students the next week. If at any time your wife goes into labor, we can find someone to take over while you take paternity leave. Then you can resume the position until Doctor Brennan is back at the Jeffersonian, at which point, your partnership will resume."

"Just temporary?"

"Yes, we do need time to line someone up for this job on a more permanent basis," Cullen explained.

"But what about my team at the lab?"

"They've always got lab stuff to do separate from the cases that we plague them with. They'll be fine without us bothering them. Hell, they may even get caught up on their own work that they've neglected to help us."

Booth thought for a minute, knowing that was true.

Well, for the most part it was true.

"They still won't get caught up on Limbo cases without Bones, though."

He was slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be working with his friends if he accepted this opportunity, especially his buddy, Wendell, who he'd spent more time with lately than anyone.

Booth pursed his lips and bit his cheek before asking, "Do I get to wear one of those orange Range Master vests?"

Cullen laughed out loud, "Yes, you would. Is that a yes?"

"I need to discuss this with my wife."

"There is no time for that," Cullen waved him off. "We'd like you to start this morning—in half an hour, actually."

"What? That's too soon. I need time to prepare and I really need to talk to Bones."

"I believe you'll find everything you need in this binder and textbook," Cullen said as he placed the two items that he had tucked under his arm on Booth's clean desk in front of him. "And you can call her now if you want."

"Why was this such a last minute thing that you need me to start in half an hour?" It was evident by Booth's tone that he was a little irritated by the fact that he'd had no notice and was probably expected to take this gig with no warning and no preparation.

"We had some hot shot ex-Marshall lined up for the job, but he called and said he accepted a better job over the weekend. I needed someone I knew could do the job, and do it well with little notice."

"Okay. I'll do it, but I do need to call Bones. If she disagrees with this, I'm not doing it."

"Okay." Cullen sat there and motioned for Booth to pick the phone up and call his wife, and his lack of movement showed his intention to sit there and wait for Booth's answer, though it felt to Booth like there was only one correct answer.

She picked the phone up almost immediately as if she'd been waiting for his call.

"_Hello, Booth. Did Cullen talk to you yet?"_

"Yeah, wait… You knew he was going to talk to me?"

"_Yeah,"_ she said. _"He told me about the temporary teaching position. I think you should take it."_

"You do?"

"_Yes."_

"Why?"

"_Why not?"_ she asked. _"You would be good at it. You would be home before 5:30 every day. You wouldn't be called in on the weekends. You won't be out in the field and in danger that I cannot protect you from. I like that Wendell is getting the field experience, but I trust your safety with me more than anyone else. You know that."_

"You really think I would be good at it?"

"_Of course I do. Your skill alone would make you good at it, but when you do something Booth, you always do it well and you have a patience that makes for a good teacher. You also have a good sense of humor that will serve you well. You possess a certain skill and you are good at it. I think you should share some of your knowledge with others if it could help them become better as well. And… Am I on speakerphone?"_

"No."

"_You might get to wear that orange Ranger Master vest that I've always said would look really good on you."_

Booth laughed, "Yeah, I already asked about that."

"_And?"_

"And what?"Booth asked, knowing what she meant, but not wanting to have this conversation with the ears that were listening to his side present.

"_Do you get to wear the vest?"_

Booth looked to his boss, hoping like hell that he can't hear what his wife is saying.

"Yes."

"_Are you going to bring it home and model it for me?"_

Booth could feel his neck and ears flush a deep crimson.

"Maybe…" he drawled out in a shy low teasing tone. "Hey, uh, I need to go and get ready for this if I'm going to do it."

"_Okay. Are you coming home for lunch?"_

"No, I'll probably stay here and prepare for the afternoon."

"_Call me and let me know how things are going."_

"Okay."

"_I love you."_

"Love you, too, babe. Bye."

"_Bye."_

Booth hung up the phone, his face still a little red. "Okay, I'll do it, but when did you talk to Bones?" Booth asked, feeling a little set up, but also a little excited.

"I would have been in here sooner, but I figured I'd need her on my side to push you into saying yes. I asked her to come up with several reasons that you should take it."

"Well, she gave me several, for sure."

"Okay," Cullen said as he stood. "I'll leave you to the prep, but if you're looking for a good way to start, I'd take them all down to the range and get an idea of their skills so that you know what you're working with."

"Good idea," Booth said, tearing off the first page of his legal pad and writing down Cullen's suggestion.

"Then, you can show them exactly why you're qualified to teach that class."

"You want me to show off?" Booth asked with a grin.

"Exactly. It'll bring a little competition to their desire to want to get better."

"Thanks for the advice. I'll get right on this," Booth said tapping the textbook, looking at the clock. "Which classroom?"

"Range room 7 downstairs," Cullen answered on his way out. "Good luck, Agent Booth; oh and tell the missus not to get too worked up over the vest, huh? We don't need that thing causing her to go into labor."

Booth shook his head, his face deepening into a darker shade of red than it had been and the tips of his ears burning with the rush of blood that flooded them. "Okay, thanks."

Booth took his service pistol out of his locked desk drawer and holstered it before doing a mental checklist of what he needed for the class and already mentally working through a game plan to make it through lunchtime today.

.

Down in the classroom, Booth decided to take a brief look through the text book and rolled his eyes at the technical explanations and diagrams, all stuff that he hoped like hell his students had at least a basic knowledge of given that they'd already taken the qualification test before. He tossed the book down onto his small table at the front of the room, picked up the binder, and repeated the same actions. On the spot, he decided that he wasn't going to use those, at all. If the agents wanted to read it on their own time, fine, but he wasn't going to waste class time to go over basics. What these people needed to know about safety, skills, accuracy and consistency, and using guns under pressure could not come out of a book.

But, like Cullen had suggested, he was going to get an idea of his students' skill levels first. Then, he'd make comments about what he'd seen before showing off his own skills and explaining why he does some of the things he does, none of which would ever come out of one of those textbooks.

.

Booth observed his protégés as they entered his classroom. Two of them are seasoned agents that he's known for awhile. He immediately noticed the four green agents out of the small group.

Among the green agents, he observed a nervous excitement. He also detected that one of them looked like a smart-ass know-it-all who thought he didn't belong there for one reason or another. There were two attractive young women in the mix, both looked shy and a little timid, but he knew that once they'd gained some confidence, they would probably be very successful in their jobs.

The two seasoned agents looked bored already. If Booth remembered correctly, Agent Julio Torrez had been out for nearly a year following a major injury involving a hostage situation gone wrong. Booth knew that he knew the other agent from seeing him around, and the occasional brief interaction, but he couldn't recall a name or any of the specifics about the guy.

"Alright, let's take our seats." Booth started, feeling a little awkward in his position as the teacher.

He was always the goofball that would have answered, "Take them where, teach?"

"I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth of the major crimes divi—"

"Wait," the agent whose name Booth couldn't recall spoke up. "You're Seeley Booth? No, it can't be. I met you once here at the range. You couldn't hit a target right in front of your face when I had seen you. The Seeley Booth I had heard of was a legendary shot. _You_ are not him."

.

_You're a legendary shot, man! I'm Carson._

_._

_Heard you could shoot a hole through the middle of a dime on the run._

And after Booth had called his target closer to him for inspection after emptying a round of shots…

'_Scuse me. Obviously got the wrong guy._

_._

Oh.

He was _that_ guy.

"Agent Carson, right?" Booth didn't wait for his response, suddenly remembering the irritating man he spoke to him as he was trying to concentrate that day. "I was recovering from just having brain surgery, and what's your excuse for being here?" Booth shrugged but again, didn't wait for a response. "I grew a set," he said, using Gordon Gordon's words, "got my shit together and passed my test two days after you saw the Swiss cheese target I pulled in, and now I'm here to help you pass what you just failed. Now, if you'll sit and listen, quietly, you can stay. Otherwise, you need to leave. I have no use for people who are going to disrupt the learning of the other agents in this room. Kapish?"

Carson's jaw worked, but he said nothing in response.

"Do you understand?" Booth's voice boomed in the echoing room.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Good." Booth then continued speaking to everyone, "Before becoming an agent for the F.B.I., I was a sniper for the U.S. Army Special Forces 75th Ranger Regiment. I served in the Gulf War, Somalia, and Kosovo. I hold the record for the longest shot, well over a kilometer, made in combat. My wife is the forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian Institute, together we solve murders that would otherwise be unsolvable without the help of her and her team. As a skill, marksmanship can be life saving or lack of skill can be deadly. There have been many occasions where my skills as a marksman have helped save my wife or members of our team. I may also make the occasional joke-that does not leave this room, by the way—about my wife and the time she shot an unarmed man with alcohol on her breath or the time she accidentally shot me with a 50-caliber 500 because the shot ricocheted off of a locked padlock. Which reminds me that we'll also be talking the use of proper equipment for the job. Not everyone will favor the same thing, and not every gun is the right fit for you, even if that what you think you want to carry, but we'll talk about that another day. It takes great concentration, patience, calm nerves and a good attitude to learn how to use this skillset properly. It also takes time and practice. Unfortunately, we have only five days to get you ready to retake your tests and I cannot teach you everything in that amount of time. In fact, there are things that I'm still learning, so it is in your best interest to make learning of this trade a lifelong commitment as long as you are in this profession because there always someone who is one step ahead of you, and that can mean the difference between life and death."

Before continuing, Booth looked them each in the eye—even Carson and the cocky green agent seemed to be paying rapt attention.

Satisfied that he didn't think that the two of them would be causing any troubles, Booth picked the textbook up off the table behind him that he was leaning against.

"This is your text book, which I see you've all gotten one from the shelf over there." He paused. "Pick it up." Booth held his up high. "Now hold it in your right hand and out to the side, like this," he demonstrated.

"Good. Drop it." Booth's book fell to the floor with a loud slam.

They all followed suit, with puzzle expressions on their face.

"Why did we do that, Agent Booth?" Agent Ginny Shaw asked.

"Because Agent Shaw, what you need to learn isn't in that book. It would be a waste of time for you to read it for this class. Time that could be better spent actually doing rather than wasting time reading about it. You've all made it this far. You've taken the tests, written and field. That book is nothing but the basic knowledge you all already possess. We are going to take what you already know, and refine it. Hone it. Really fine-tune it. Everybody stand."

They all did as asked.

"Gather all of your belongings. We will not be returning here today. We'll just go next door to the range here, and get started."

.

Booth let his students take half an hour to practice, during which time he studied and took notes over their posture, their hold, aim, concentration, techniques, habits, mannerisms and target results.

Afterward, he had them all stand back and watch as Agent Torrez came up to shoot a few trial rounds as if certifying, while the class watched. He used Torrez as an example, because as an experienced agent, Torrez knew the procedure without being told what came next. Torrez also had the least amount of problems to work with so that Booth could show them how this class would act as a sort of master class where they could all learn from the mistakes they were all making.

Booth was certain that Torrez had only failed because of nerves or if he was just having a bad day that day because if this had been an actual test, he would have passed. There wasn't much to correct.

When Torrez was finished Booth said as much and added a few pointers for stance and aim as the others watched on and took note of what was being said.

He went through each of the agents doing the same, hoping that by critiquing them all in front of each other that he was helping to solve issues that he may have missed while observing the others during those thirty minutes of practice and the mock test they had just completed.

He reiterated the fact that it takes practice and that this one session wasn't likely to fix any of their problems automatically. They would have to concentrate to actively improve what they were doing.

By lunchtime, Booth was pleased with how things were going and decided to give them an hour and a half for lunch to relax and come back with the right mindset to accomplish their tasks.

Booth decided that since he had an hour and a half for lunch that he'd go home and surprise Brennan instead of call her.

.

Booth walked in the front door of their house and put his gun and badge in the gun safe before taking his jacket off and throwing himself onto the couch, yelling out to see where his wife was.

"BONES!"

"In the kitchen," came the response not quite as loud as his.

He pulled himself off the couch and walked into the kitchen, only now noticing the wonderful aroma of something he couldn't quite identify, but whatever it was smelled amazing.

"Mmm, what is that smell?"

"It's something that I know you'll like, but it's a surprise for dinner tonight. Out. Out." She shooed him from her kitchen, following behind him closely, until he stopped and turned around abruptly and pulled her into his arms for a proper hello kiss.

"How is the teaching going," she asked when he finally pulled away.

"It's great so far. I thought that I was going to have a problem with a couple of the guys at first. Some cocky kid didn't think that he should have been there and then some smart-ass agent who happened to witness one of my range sessions back before I recertified and I was having problems shooting straight. He was probably wondering what the hell I was doing teaching the class given what he'd seen."

"But everything is okay now, right?"

"Yeah, after we got started, things settled down and we got down to business. Cullen asked me to show off for them this afternoon. So, I'll probably do that when we get started again and then I'll let them practice some more this afternoon. I'll probably be home a little early today so that I can get started on preparing everything for the next few days and so that I don't have to work on it all night."

Booth smiled and kissed Brennan's lips again before trying to look around her into the kitchen. "That smells really good, Bones. C'mon let me go see what it is. Please?"

"No! Booth, stop. It's a surprise!" Brennan laughed as he kept trying to dodge her and get around.

"So says the woman who used to hate surprises."

"That's not entirely true, Booth. I just never had a reason to like them or look forward to them before, because in my experience, before I met you, surprises were rarely a good thing."

"Oh, sorry, Bones," Booth said, settling himself down and sobering his mood a bit.

"Anyways, that's changed," she said, running her hands down his broad chest. "And besides, it isn't for me; it's for you. Now go relax, while I make some lunch for you. What would you like?"

"Are you sure? You're supposed to be taking it easy. I can make lunch for myself. I won't look in the pot. I promise."

"If you promise..."

"I promise. Go relax. Do you want me to fix anything for _you_?"

"I think I could eat a grilled cheese," Brennan replied, rubbing her tummy and her mouth watering at the thought.

"I can make that for you and I'll make one for myself as well so I don't have to make too big of a mess in here. Go sit on the couch, and I'll bring it to you when it's ready, Bones."

"Okay, but please don't look in the Crockpot, Booth."

"I won't."

He didn't.

* * *

**Still with me? I hope so. Please, don't read and run.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown**


	66. Getting a Taste

**A huge thank you to dharmamonkey for looking this over for me and for her great suggestions. She's a true master of the finer details and things that I just flat-out missed after spending too many hours staring at this thing.**

* * *

Parker walked out of the school building, already looking for his mom's ice blue Sebring. He'd had a bad day, and all he wanted was to get out of there already.

_His morning had started out okay, until he'd spilled orange juice on himself in the cafeteria during breakfast time. Normally, he would have eaten at home, but his dad didn't wake up on time to get ready and make breakfast and he didn't want to bother Brennan with having to get up and wait on him, so he had just asked his dad for a few dollars to get something at school, which he'd been doing more and more lately, which was fine with him._

_On the way to class, he'd accidentally stepped in some fresh gum and strung it across his sock and other shoe. He tracked it all the way to his next class where he got in trouble for getting it on the carpet, as if it was _his_ gum. He rolled his eyes, but took the scolding anyway, knowing that back-talking would have just made it worse._

_In math, he discovered that he'd forgotten to do an entire worksheet because he left it in his locker over the weekend. His dad and Brennan always checked his homework and made sure that it was done, and done correctly, but it didn't help if it wasn't there to be checked. So his only option was to turn it in the next day where the highest grade he would be able to get was a 70, which was much lower than any of his other grades. He was disappointed in himself for this oversight._

_His day didn't get any better from there._

_In P.E., the boys had been forced to run laps the entire period because the locker room had been left a disaster over the weekend and the coaches were mad._

_Parker was sure that he'd never run more in his entire life. He liked running and exercising, but this really was overkill and he saw it as unfair to punish all of the kids when the problem was due to only a handful of the boys._

_After that, at lunch, he had to sit next to a girl that he was sort of kind of starting to like, which was totally fine with him until she'd asked why he was all sweaty and told him that it was a little gross._

_Honestly, Parker didn't think his day could get any worse, but was proved wrong when he was tardy to his English class because his locker wouldn't open. The strap of his backpack had gotten jammed into the edge of the locker, effectively wedging it shut. He'd had to get help from some teacher he didn't know in_ _the hall, and the teacher wouldn't give him a tardy pass because_ _'he needed to take more responsibility when closing his locker rather than just slamming it shut without looking.' _

_Parker had been optimistic through most of the day that it would get better, but at this point, he just gave up and took it as it came._

_His tardy resulted in lunch detention for the next day, as it was his third tardy. The whole situation was totally unfair. Three minutes really was _not_ enough time to get across campus from the cafeteria, get his books from his locker _and_ go to the bathroom before the tardy bell._

_His normal science partner wasn't in school that day, so he was paired with someone he was pretty sure wouldn't pull their weight in the day's lab activity. He was right. He did most of the work while the other kid freeloaded off his work. He tried to say something to the teacher about it, but was brushed off, as he'd gotten the impression that the teacher just really didn't care. He'd have to tell his dad about this._

_The last bell couldn't ring fast enough for Parker._

When he was out on the sidewalk, _finally_, after all of the crap he'd put up with that day, he was disappointed that his mom wasn't in her normal spot.

He looked around, thinking that maybe she was parked somewhere else, but still didn't see her car.

He stood there for a few more seconds before hearing his name called out. He turned his head and looked toward the line of traffic to see his mom and Wendell standing outside of a car that Parker assumed belonged to Wendell.

He let out a sigh of relief and started toward them at a run. He was so happy to get to go home, where he hoped things would go better. Seeing his mom and the friendly, familiar face of her new boyfriend breathed life back into his optimism that the day would get better.

He wasn't even shy about walking right up to her and giving her a big hug right in front of all of his peers before they all got into the car.

"How was your day, baby? You look exhausted."

"That's—well, let me quote dad: _I could really use a drink, but I'll settle for a milkshake._"

He'd often heard his dad tell Bones that same thing at the end of a long day.

This caused the two adults to laugh. "Your dad has always been funny like that. So you had a bad day, huh?" Rebecca asked her son.

"Yep. Everything that could go wrong, did," Parker said on a sigh, looking out the windows as they crept forward in the long line of cars waiting to exit the parking lot.

"That's what people call Murphy's Law," Rebecca said.

"They have a name for it?" Parker asked with exasperation.

"Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong," Rebecca replied. "That's Murphy's Law."

"Yeah, and it all seemed to happen at the worst possible times, too," Parker added despondently.

"Ah, in _that _case, it would be Finagle's Law, _not_ Murphy's Law," Wendell interjected, looking back in the rearview mirror at Parker.

"They named that, too?" Parker couldn't believe it.

"People have bad days all the time. Naming all of the principle's behind bad days serves as a sort of joke that everyone understands," Rebecca responded, trying to add some comfort to her son as she tried to let him know that he wasn't alone in having bad days.

"Are there any other of these laws?" Parker asked, intrigued to learn something new—something that was comforting to him.

Wendell immediately came up with one: "There's Hofstadter's Law that says, 'It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.' Doctor B. actually says this to her graduate students who are working on dissertations. She says it a lot, actually."

"Oh, and there's Herblock's Law, 'If it's good, they'll stop making it,'" Rebecca added. "There are a lot of these little eponymous laws."

"What does that mean?" Parker asked. "Epi—"

"Ep-on-uh-mus," Rebecca repeated slowly so that he could catch the pronunciation. "It's just all of the little rules of life."

"There's a lot, huh?"

"Yeah," both adults responded.

Wendell continued, "There is one that is exactly like Murphy's Law, but also says that bad fortune will be tailored to the individual. Ever hear the term _unlucky sod_?" He asked, knowing that Parker probably had whether he realized it or even if he didn't know what it meant.

"I think so," Parker said, as the car was on its way—finally—down the street to go to the Booth residence.

"It's called Sod's Law," Wendell went on to explain. "A good example would be Beethoven. Incredible musician and composer. What happened? He went deaf. His misfortune was directly related to what was basically his whole life. There's another that I can think of off the top of my head. Adolf Coors III was the heir to the Coors beer empire, but the guy was allergic to beer."

"I'm not a fan of that law," Parker said. "I hope nothing that cruel ever happens to me."

"I hope not, either, Parker," Rebecca replied, cringing at the thought of _any_ misfortune being bestowed upon her only child.

.

When they arrived at the house, they all went inside.

They could smell it before they opened the front door. Brennan was cooking something and it smelled heavenly.

"Something sure smells good, Doctor B," Wendell called out into the house from the entryway where he and Rebecca stood as Parker ran off to put his things in his room.

Brennan poked her head out of her home office, "Oh, hello!" She greeted. "I didn't hear the door open."

"It's okay; we just got here. We're waiting on Parker to put his things away, and then we are going to go get a milkshake from the diner. He had a rough day at school," Rebecca explained.

"Actually, could the milkshake wait until after dinner?" Brennan asked. "I've made something special. Booth will be home from work at a decent time since he is teaching instead of working cases."

"Yeah, we can wait," Rebecca agreed.

"Would you like to stay for dinner? There's plenty. Actually, there's a lot. I don't think I realized how much that crock pot could really hold, and it's full."

Rebecca looked at Wendell. He smiled and shrugged, "I'm good with whatever you want, Rebecca, but whatever it is smells _really _good. I think we should stay."

"Parker would love it if you stayed as well," Brennan added.

"Okay, are you sure we wouldn't be imposing?"

"Positive," Brennan responded.

"What is it anyway?" Wendell asked. "It smells fantastic."

Brennan placed her book down on a decorative table on the way to the kitchen, "Come, I'll show you."

Brennan led them to the crock-pot. She smiled proudly and handed the copy of the recipe to Rebecca, thinking that perhaps she would recognize it.

"Is this… Oh my goodness," Rebecca said with wide eyes, looking up from the copy of a handwritten recipe. "This is Grace's recipe; isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Who is Grace?" Wendell asked.

"Gram, Booth's grandmother," Rebecca responded, quietly. "This," she smiled, slightly teary, "this will mean a lot to him. It really will. Besides Hank's grilled cheese, this was his favorite."

"Was Grace still alive when—?"

"Yeah, she was. She was a sweet woman, too. Very kind, but cheeky, too. A lot like Seeley. You probably think Hank is where he gets most of his charm right?"

Brennan nodded a little.

"That's true, but really, he got most it from her. Everything genuine about that man came from her. _And_ she was a _fantastic_ cook."

"He's said that before when I asked him to tell me about her."

"It's true. I've had this before when she made it," Rebecca said, holding up the recipe.

"Maybe you could taste it and make sure it's close?" Brennan asked.

"Sure."

Brennan handed her a spoon, and Rebecca lifted the lid of the crock-pot.

The scent of the food wafted out of the pot strongly when the lid was lifted.

"It certainly smells the same." She dipped the spoon in and blew on it to let it cool a bit before putting it to her lips for a taste. "Oh, God, yes. It's _just_ like hers. Seeley will _love_ this."

"I had hoped so," Brennan said. "Hank sent it to me a few days ago and said I should make it for Seeley." She'd said the name she used mostly in private, without thinking. She blushed a little when Wendell smiled at her.

"Can I taste?" Wendell asked.

"I want a taste, too," Parker said, walking into the kitchen. "What are we tasting?"

"It's was one of your father's favorite foods growing up," Rebecca said.

"It's Gram's recipe," Brennan added.

"Really? What is it?"

Before Brennan or Rebecca could answer, they heard Wendell hissing and breathing cool air over his tongue, "S'hot, hot!"

Rebecca turned to Brennan, "Does Seeley still do that, too? Is it some kind of man law to not let your food cool enough before putting it in your mouth?"

"Must be," Brennan shrugged. "Seeley is always blistering the roof of his mouth with hot pizza toppings."

"What _is _it?" Parker asked again, a slight impatience to his tone, which earned him a look from both maternal figures. "Sorry."

"Venison Chili," Brennan answered him.

They heard more hissing from Wendell. When he noticed everyone staring at him, "What? I had to do a second taste test as a control. Doctor B., you of all people should understand the importance of a control."

Brennan smiled, knowing already that it had been a very good idea to make Gram's dish.

"I love chili," Parker said.

"Well, this will be like nothing you've ever had, Parker," Rebecca informed him.

"My turn!"

Wendell dipped the spoon back in and handed it down to Parker.

"Let it cool, first," Brennan scolded, seeing that he was already bringing the spoon to his lips.

He stopped, blew on the food a bit, and then tipped it into his mouth. "Wow."

.

When Booth walked in the door around 4:45, he froze. At lunch, when he'd been home, he had smelled some kind of food beginning to cook, but _that_ aroma that hit him when he opened the door. He _knew_ that smell.

_But it couldn't be._ He shrugged away the thought and stepped toward the coat closet to hang up the Range Master Vest that he'd brought home with him and his leather jacket as well. At lunch, he'd changed from his suit, to more comfortable clothes, fit for shooting at the range, a nice pair of dark jeans and a snug-fitting black FBI T-shirt. He toed off his checkered Vans and stepped into the family room, where the sounds of a movie were playing rather loudly over the surround sound that Hodgins had helped install when they moved in.

He didn't expect to see his ex-girlfriend and ex-temporary partner cuddled up on the couch together. Not only was he still getting used to _that_ idea—as much as he approved of the new relationship—he just really didn't expect anyone to be in there except his wife and kid.

"Hey, you two. Where's Parker and Bones?"

Rebecca turned the movie volume down before speaking, "Parker went to the restroom to wash his hands before going to set the table, and Temperance is in the kitchen."

"I wish she would just sit down and relax," Booth said, shaking his head. "Stubborn woman."

"I heard that," Brennan pouted as she walked into the room. She walked up to Booth and bumped into him a little bit. "Sorry," she laughed. "My dimensions significantly change daily." She leaned in for a kiss and a hug.

"Eh, nothing like a little love bump, huh?" Booth laughed, rubbing the sides of her belly and then wrapping his arms around her.

Booth kept his arms around her back and rubbed her shoulders and lower back a bit before she pulled away.

"Dinner is ready," she said a few beats later.

Rebecca and Wendell stood from the couch and they all made their way to the formal dining room where Parker had most everything set up.

"Good, I'm starving," Booth said eagerly, rubbing his stomach. "I got out of there early, but it was a _long_ day."

"Good, I hope?" She asked.

"Yeah, just different. What's for dinner? I've been thinking about that crock-pot all damn afternoon! And when I walked in just now, I could've sworn…"

"What?" She asked.

"It's just—I thought—but that's impossible, never mind." He waved her off.

"No, Booth. What did you think?" Brennan looked to Wendell and gave him a nod. He went into the kitchen to grab the ceramic dish from the crock-pot as everyone else sat down.

Booth tilted his head, wondering why she was pushing this. Deep down, he already knew, but on the surface, he was in denial and still saw it as an impossibility.

"Bones?"

"I want to know…what did you think, Booth?" she asked.

"Wh—when I walked in, I swear… God, it smells just like it. Gram, she used to make this chili. God, it was the best chili on the planet—and before you go and tell me to stop being so hyperbolic, it really was, Bones. It was _the_ best. The. Best."

"What if I told you that it wasn't your imagination?" Brennan kept her eyes locked on his, gauging his reaction. She knew that it would bring on a great deal of emotion for him, and part of her worried that she'd somehow disappoint him or that he wouldn't be as happy as she or Rebecca had thought he'd be. She didn't want him to resent her for trying to replicate one of his favorite memories of his grandmother, only to have it flop.

Wendell walked back into the room with the hot ceramic dish and he set it on a potholder on the table.

Brennan stood slightly to reach the lid and lifted it off the dish.

"Bones?" Booth's voice cracked. "How—?" The question, a whisper on his lips that was barely audible.

With a small smile, Brennan took Booth's soup bowl from his placemat in front of him and scooped a generous portion into it. "Hank sent me the recipe. He said he found it when he was looking for something and he wanted me to make it for you."

"I don't know what to say. I haven't had this since—" He choked up a little. "Since Gram had that major stroke a few months before she passed. And it was the _one_ recipe missing from her cookbook that Pops gave me several years ago."

"Rebecca tasted it earlier to make sure that it was right," Brennan said as she set the bowl in front of Booth.

He tentatively picked up his soup spoon.

"It smells right," Booth said, dipping his spoon into the chili and swirling it around his bowl, "looks right, too."

Rebecca smiled sweetly at Booth when he looked up at hearing her voice, "Seeley, I know that I only had it a couple of times and that I didn't grow up having this all the time like you did, but from what I remember, it tastes the same to me."

Booth finally drew the spoon out and let it cool a beat before bringing it to his lips for a taste.

When the slightly spicy layers of rich flavor hit his senses, he closed his eyes against the slight burning in the corner of his eyes.

Brennan held her breath, as did everyone else at the table, waiting for his response.

He slowly opened his eyes as a big, boyish grin split across his face, his eyes glassy and bright.

"Bones, this is—it's amazing. It's just like hers. It is. You know, Pops tried to make this for me when I'd come visit after Gram had passed, but it was never the same, but you really got it there."

"I'm glad. It's a real relief." Brennan served Parker before serving herself and passing the spoon around to Rebecca and Wendell.

"I had actually thought about making it for you for Valentine's Day, since we were going to just spend the evening at home," Brennan continued as they all started to eat. "I don't care much for the day, but you do, and I wanted it to be special for you, but at the same time, I didn't want to ruin the day if I had gotten it wrong. I was nervous that you wouldn't like it if it wasn't just—"

"Bones, I love it. Don't worry. I would have loved you for trying, even if it _wasn't_ right," Booth said firmly and didn't break eye contact with his wife until she nodded a bit with a satisfied smile. "Really, this means a lot to me."

"I know."

Brennan took out the sheet of paper, placed it in front of her husband, and watched as he traced his fingers over Grace's handwriting.

Throughout the rest of the dinner, Booth and Brennan shared many moments of silent exchanges and lingering glances between them as the conversation turned to the twins and the developments and growth spurts that would occur during the thirty-first week in the womb.

Rebecca, Wendell and Parker enjoyed watching the two of them doing what they do best, and it made all three of them extremely happy for the couple in front of them that they had such a good, strong friendship and relationship.

Parker was just happy that his parents were all getting along well together. He knew that his mom and dad used to have a lot of tension between them, no matter how much they tried to shelter him from that fact. He also knew that he was lucky to have such a good stepmother and that she had a good friendship with his biological mother as well. He knew kids that didn't have it so easy. And he was ecstatic that his mother was moving on with her life and trying to start fresh, and choosing to do so with someone as cool as Wendell.

But the thing he was the most thankful for was the fact that his day _did_ get better after all.

.

After dinner, Rebecca and Wendell took Parker out for the milkshake they had promised him earlier in the day. Upon being dropped off at home, Parker decided to get an immediate start on his homework—he'd been extra careful to grab _all_ of it from his locker earlier that afternoon.

He grabbed his book bag from his room and went into the home office where Brennan was lounging on the loveseat with the laptop balanced on what was left of her lap, working on her book, while his dad was drinking a beer and working on a game plan for his class for the rest of the week.

Parker pulled a chair out at the table across from his dad and set out everything he needed to do. He watched his father take a drink and then make some notes for several minutes. He pulled out his calculator and started on his math homework that he was supposed to turn in that day.

He did a few problems before tossing his calculator onto the table.

"I don't even feel like putting my best effort into this math. The highest I can get is a 70 anyway," Parker said, breaking the silence. "It's almost not worth it because I won't get what I know I deserve no matter how well I do."

Both adults looked up from their work, but it was Booth who spoke, "Why?"

"I accidentally left it in my locker over the weekend and it was due today," Parker said, rolling the corner of the worksheet up a bit.

"Well, there has to be some penalty for it being late, Parker," Booth said. "This may have been a one-off accident for you, but the teachers have to have a penalty in place so that the due date means something to the other kids. The teachers can't make an exception for you just because it was an accident or it wouldn't be fair."

"I know, but it still bothers me. I guess…I don't know; maybe I'm just mad at myself for it."

"It happens to all of us, Bub. Bones told me about your bad day while you were out with your mom and Wendell."

"Yeah, I guess. Mom and Wendell told me all about Murphy's Law and a few others. Did you know that the heir to one of the biggest beer company's was allergic to beer? Crazy."

"That sounds like Sod's Law," Brennan said.

"That's what Wendell said."

To Booth, Brennan explained, "Sod's Law is a more complex derivative of Murphy's law that dictates that the misfortunate occurrences are tailor made to the individual. For instance, Booth, you are an FBI agent and a sharpshooter who is currently teaching a gun class, right? Well, if something bad were to happen to your shooting hand or perhaps your eyesight—"

"You'd be an unlucky sod, because that is directly related to something that is a big part of your life," Parker finished.

"Okay, thanks for using me as an example, Bones. I didn't have enough to worry about in our line of work," The sarcasm was oozing out of his tone and not even Brennan missed it in this instance.

"Sorry," she said with a smile before returning to her laptop for a few seconds. "But I think that despite the bad start to your day, Parker, I'm glad that an opportunity to learn a few new things that arose from the string of misfortune you experienced during your school day."

Booth took a swig of his beer and set the bottle down, drawing Parker's attention towards him.

"Dad, what does beer taste like?" he asked.

The lead on Booth's pencil snapped as he pressed too hard.

_Where did that come from?_ Booth asked himself. Booth remembered asking his Pops that very same question right around Parker's age. _Crap. Fuck._

Booth panicked further at remembering Pops' response to the question.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._

_I could lose my job for what I'm about to do—not to mention go to jail or get a hefty fine, _Booth thought, _but it really is the best way to answer the question and it's what Pops did for me and it was the most godawful shit I'd ever tasted up until that point and it effectively answered my question in a way that words never would have been able to with the added bonus of me never wanting the foul shit anywhere near me ever again._

"Want a sip?" he asked Parker, quietly.

Brennan heard his question, and her head shot up. "Booth! He's a minor!"

"Yeah, I know that, but this is how Pops answered me when I asked that question. I'm just offering a small sip, not a six pack. Just trust me, here," he said to her. When she saw a look on his face that told her he would explain his reasoning to her later, she nodded a bit and pretended to return to her work, but kept a close eye on the situation to see what would happen.

She knew that Booth was a good father, and knew that if he was doing this, he had his reasons.

Booth turned back to a nervous-looking Parker. "Do you want a sip? Just a small taste."

Booth slid the bottle across the table and indicated to Parker with a nod that it really was okay.

"Really?" he asked, just wanting to make absolute sure.

"Sure, go ahead."

Parker took the bottle, looked at his dad and then at the bottle itself.

"Wait," Booth said, stopping Parker as he tipped the bottle almost to his mouth. Booth leaned over the table and gathered Parker's homework and books into a neat pile and moved them off the table. "We'd better move these to a safe spot," he said with a small smile, knowing exactly what was going to happen. "Okay, go for it, Bub."

This made Parker a little more nervous, but he was still so floored by the fact that his father had offered him a taste that he wasn't able to figure out why his father thought it was important to move the homework.

Brennan watched from behind her laptop screen, hiding a small smile, now having an idea of where Booth was going with this little demonstration.

Parker brought the bottle to his lips once more and he took a big swig of the carbonated liquid just as he would if he were drinking a soda out of a bottle.

The beer had barely had time to touch his tongue before Parker was already trying to expel it from his mouth. Just as Booth knew it would, the beer spewed from Parker's mouth and all over himself and the table in front of him.

"Uck, ulch! Gross. You drink that crap? Ickk," Parker nearly yelled, trying to catch his breath as his face scrunched up in clear distaste.

"Yeah," Booth chuckled. "Gross, huh?"

"Understatement, dad. I'm never gonna drink that stuff ever again. That Coors guy wasn't missing anything by being allergic to that junk."

"Good. I'm glad to hear you say that," Booth said, with a hint of smugness, as he made a mental note to thank Pops the next time he talked to him on the phone. "Never say never," Booth said, knowing that Parker would eventually try beer again. After all, he did. "But you'll be in deep shit, if I find out that you went back on your word there before you're legally of age to do so."

"I don't think you have to worry, dad. That was not fun or pleasant and now I stink," Parker said, holding up his arms and pinching his wet shirt away from his chest a bit.

"Good thing I moved your homework, huh? Go have a shower, change and then come back to finish your homework."

"Okay; do you want me to clean up my mess?" Parker asked.

"No, Park, it was my idea. I'll clean it up. You just go worry about cleaning yourself up so that you can get back to your homework."

"K." Parker left the room, already pulling the stinky shirt over his head.

Booth went to the bathroom to grab a wet washcloth and a towel and cleaned up the mess.

Afterward, he sat next to his wife on the loveseat.

"Hank did that to you, too?" Brennan asked with a raised brow. It seemed nearly cruel to her, but she could also see that it had an impact.

"Yeah," Booth responded. "After dad left, I was so mad, you know? I knew dad drank. He did it openly, all the time and never bothering to hide it. After he left, I just asked Pops what it tasted like. He gave me a taste, and just like Parker did, I spewed it everywhere."

"Did you vow to never drink it again, too?" Brennan asked.

"Funny thing is that I did. I said that I would never drink it again, and you know what? I didn't try it again until I was of legal age, but more than that, I got a taste of the foul nasty stinky shit that my dad would rather waste his life drinking than being a father to me and Jared. That's when I finally realized that I was okay with dad leaving like he did. I came to terms with the fact that he was gone."

He was silent for a few minutes to let that statement hang in the air between them. "I'm glad that this little milestone for Parker doesn't hold that kind of weight for him. I'm also glad that he asked me rather than trying to satisfy his curiosity by sneaking around with friends or having to deal with his friends pressuring him into trying the stuff. I was there to supervise his first taste of alcohol. It didn't go well for him and he doesn't feel pressured to drink more out of obligation of feeling like he'd be a wuss if he didn't continue drinking."

"I wasn't sure where you were going with offering him a taste, at first. I didn't see the potential for the lesson there. I'm sorry that I tried to interrupt; I shouldn't ha—"

Booth stopped her words with a brief peck on the lips.

"No, don't apologize. You didn't know. I had to think pretty quickly there, and to be honest, I almost panicked when I realized what he'd asked me. Thanks for trusting me with little explanation."

"You're a good father, Booth."

"I'm glad you think so, because I really felt bat-shit crazy for offering my eleven year old son alcohol," Booth dropped his head back against the cushion.

"And you wouldn't have gone through with it if you didn't trust Hank's method due to your own experience and your own instincts that the results would be the same. Our kids are lucky to have you in their lives." She paused and squeezed his hand. "_I'm_ lucky."

"Says the woman who doesn't believe in luck," Booth said, squeezing her shoulder and laughing a bit.

"My dad always said that those who choose not to believe in luck do so because they haven't any good reason to believe in luck. Those who consistently experience misfortune in their life, as I did for far too many years, will always say they don't believe in luck."

"And now?"

"Now," she paused, running her fingers over the keys of her laptop, lightly, but not pressing down, "now, maybe I have a reason to believe."

She closed her laptop and set it aside so that she could curl herself into Booth's side as he pulled her in closer to him for a hard, lingering kiss.

* * *

**Some things to note:**

**I imagine people will have differing views on the issue of giving a child a taste of beer in this manner. Some probably have had similar experience from their parents and some may consider it child abuse. Everyone is free to express their opinions on this idea, but please do so kindly. I know that not everyone would be okay with this.**

**My dad did this to me around at that age, and I didn't try it again until I was of legal age. Still not a fan of beer. And oddly enough, this same method is the reason I don't drink coffee… I had a taste when I was very young. Hated it, and now I won't drink it unless it is 98% creamer and 2% coffee LOL. I'm more of a tea person.**

**Please leave a review. I worked very hard and value the readers' thoughts very much. I love alerts and favorites, but it's nice to know what _you__r_ likes and dislikes are.**

**Another huge thanks to the monkey.**

**XOXO,  
CrayonClown **


End file.
